A YEAR IN REVIEW As we ring in the new year of 2017 and enjoy the presence of thousands of our Birthright Israel participants in Israel this winter, we take a moment to reflect on 2016 – a year of innovation, advancement, challenges and achievements. 2016 followed a year of celebrations, where we had marked our 15th anniversary and the great milestone of reaching 500,000 participants. During the year, 44,862 young Jewish adults enjoyed their life changing trip (1,000 more than the total participants in 2015), and with their arrival, Birthright Israel took our first step towards the next half a million participants. With these milestones, we are continuously reminded of our overall mission, purpose and goals – delivering a unique and meaningful experience to each and every one of our participants, while ensuring their safety and security. This vision will continue to guide us and we will do our best to maintain Birthright Israel’s position as the largest, most successful educational organization in the Jewish world today.
To date, the Center has hosted over 20,000 Birthright Israel participants and dozens of delegations from Israel and around the globe. The Center encompasses an exhibit hall showcasing Israel’s cutting edge, innovative achievements and high-tech capabilities – an important part of modern Israel’s society, economy and culture – and a lecture hall, where entrepreneurs share their personal and professional stories. Additionally, this past summer we implemented the geopolitical module. Our cadre of speakers met with groups across the country to discuss domestic, regional and international affairs, all related to the Middle East and Israel in an unbiased, non-partisan manner. The aim is to present a more nuanced view of the relationship between different sectors within Israeli society including positive examples, which are rarely presented in foreign media.
PLANNING, STRATEGIZING AND IMPLEMENTING NEW PROGRAMS
The module aims to present 21st century Israel alongside the important messages and educational values of Israel’s and the Jewish people’s history and heritage. Within this module we placed three components in the spot light – Tel Aviv as a vibrant modern city, Israel’s hi-tech industry and geopolitics.
As an organization catering to the generation of the millennials, Birthright Israel must keep itself innovative, current and flexible, to bring tens of thousands of eligible young Jewish adults to Israel annually. Better yet, we must adjust our product – the life-changing trip to Israel – to the needs of today’s potential participants. We’ve done intensive R&D work and created special programs – each targeting a different audience. Highlights include:
Tel Aviv Week, a festival, which celebrates the modern city of Tel Aviv, is gradually becoming a summer season tradition. This past May over 5,000 North American participants took part in this second annual event and toured the city while experiencing its sites, nightlife, culture, cuisine, and more. Not even two weeks later, we held the grand opening of the first ever Birthright Israel Innovation Center in partnership with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
Birthright Israel Academic – This past summer we ran two 13-day trips that featured academic programming. For each trip, we partnered with an Israeli university. With the IDC, we ran a counterterrorism course, and with Ben Gurion University, an ecology and environment program. The participants had the opportunity, upon completion of relevant course work, to earn 3 academic credits. Our new project manager is currently outlining the summer 2017 Academic trips.
THE CONTEMPORARY ISRAEL MODULE
