Journeys #7 - March 2017

JOURNEYS

ISSUE 7 · MARCH 2017

THAT LAST A LIFETIME

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A Letter from our Board Chair and President

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Birthright Israel Looking Ahead

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Live from The Bus

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New Beginnings: Birthright Israel & Beyond

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Donor Spotlight: Jesse and David Wellner

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Join Us in Israel

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Case for Giving

Dear Friends, We hope that 2017 is off to a wonderful start for you and your family. As the new Chairman of the Board and President & CEO of Birthright Israel Foundation, we are excited to work in tandem to take the Foundation to newfound heights. The opportunities before us are significant, and we are working diligently to develop and implement a fundraising program that has lasting and successful impact. Our goals will be bold, but achievable. Our focus will extend nationwide and across all giving levels. We are committed to enhancing our institutional and major gift effort, addressing the potential of our significant alumni base, building a world-class digital marketing and philanthropy program, and ensuring no opportunity to increase our funding is overlooked.

For the two of us, Birthright Israel is the most important organization in the Jewish world. It is absolutely unique in its ability to foster Jewish generational continuity and Jewish peoplehood. 500,000+ participants strong in 17 short years, we are making a meaningful difference one Jewish soul at a time. It is this impact that gives us the enthusiasm and drive to help steward Birthright Israel to the next level.

While we have achieved great success to date, we know there is much work to be done. Birthright Israel currently

sends 45,000 participants to Israel annually. While a remarkable figure, we know that there are roughly 70,000 eligible Jewish men and women in the U.S. who age out of the program each year. That means if we don’t increase our current participation rate, nearly 600,000 current 18-26 year olds will be left behind. Birthright Israel is working hard to make sure our unique gift is evolving, innovative and relevant. We are investing more in program enhancements and innovative marketing and recruiting - all with the mindset of delivering the most impactful experience to the most participants.

We hope this issue of Journeys will bring you pride in our work and will encourage you to continue to support our efforts.

With your help, we can make sure we find a seat on the bus for every young Jewish adult who raises their hand and says “I want to go on Birthright Israel.”

As we plan for the future of Birthright Israel Foundation, we are thankful for your generosity and commitment, and look forward to continuing our partnership of ensuring that the gift of Birthright Israel is available for generations to come. The strength of our community and our future depend on it.

Sincerely, THOMAS D. STERN Chairman of the Board ISRAEL ("IZZY") TAPOOHI President & CEO

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NEWSROOM TO NEWSROOM Journalists, writers and reporters will experience Birthright Israel with a focus on the country’s journalism industry. The trip includes meetings with leading journalists and authors and an inside look into some of Israel’s most prominent media organizations.

IDF

ERS’ OFFICERS’ PROGRAM

BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL

ACADEMIC Last summer Birthright Israel ran two 13-day trips that featured academic programming. Each trip partners with an Israeli university and enables participants to receive 3 academic credits. Birthright Israel Academic will continue in summer 2017.

YOGA +

Following a request from the IDF, Birthright Israel will hold special trips for 120 IDF officers, who will be screened and chosen carefully. The officers will join older groups from the U.S and undergo special programming about IsraelDiaspora relations, innovation, IDF values and more.

i k o o L

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MEDICAL STUD MINDFULNESS + PRACTITIONE Participants will have the chance to focus on the spirituality and fitness of Israeli society. This Birthright Israel trip focuses on participants’ individual journey and Jewish identity through spirituality, yoga, meditation and mindfulness.

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A TASTE OF ISRAEL THROUGH THE LENS Where foodies and photographers converge!

This trip encourages participants to share their love of social media and food while they explore Israel’s legendary markets, organic farms and local cuisine.

g n i d a he

EXTENSIONS

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ENTS RS

Funded by Maimonides Foundation, the extension program will offer short-term, in-depth experiences for participants wishing to extend their trip in Israel.

Starting with a pilot this summer, the program will provide a selection of options for participants to deepen their connection to Israel, Israelis and the Jewish people.

This summer, Birthright Israel anticipates welcoming over 30,000 young adults to Israel with new trip enhancements and exciting niche trips so participants can get the most out of their experience!

Travel to Israel with a group of medical/nursing students and practitioners to explore the homeland alongside Israeli medical students. Participants will have the opportunity to visit innovative medical facilities and network with Israeli physicians.

USA-ARGENTINA JOINT JOURNEY This trip takes Birthright Israel global, bringing together participants from Argentina and the US in Israel. Spanish speakers are preferred.

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LIVE FROM THE BUS The best way to understand the Birthright Israel experience is to hear from participants firsthand. Here are a few notes straight from Israel about the impact of those 10 days.

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New Beginnings BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL AND BEYOND With over 500,000 Birthright Israel alumni, there are over half a million stories of why this trip is truly lifechanging. For some, it is the first step on their Jewish journey and for others, the trip solidifies their commitment to living a life with Jewish values and carrying on the traditions of our ancestors. But, the best part about Birthright Israel, is it finds a way to touch each participant in a unique way.

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A MATCH MADE IN ISRAEL: MICHELLE AND ALEX BRONZO February 3, 2013: Michelle and Alex meet at a very romantic setting... Newark Airport.

Little did they know that their trip together to Israel—which they both took a chance on—would change everything. Somewhere in between hikes through the desert, trying new foods in the Shuk, camel rides at the Bedouin village, and entertaining bus trips, they realized their quickly growing feelings for one another were unlike anything they had experienced before. They were completely smitten! After the 10 days, Michelle returned home and told her

mom, “I met the guy I’m going to marry!”

Alex echoed similar sentiments to his family and friends, and moved back to NYC so they could be together.

Once in New York, their relationship was off to the races after having a special and unique foundation. While holding onto many friendships from their Birthright Israel trip, they continued to grow together, learning so much about each other, traveling together, and becoming intertwined in each other’s families.

One of their most meaningful memories from Israel was a memory of them just spending time together on a bench in

"MY BIGGEST TAKE-AWAY FROM MY BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL TRIP WAS THAT I WANTED TO ONE DAY RETURN TO ISRAEL TO SEE AND LEARN MORE"

Netanya. So it was fitting that Alex would propose—just a year and four months after meeting—on another bench in NYC's Tudor City Greens. The proposal was an unbelievably private, intimate moment that left both of them with joyous tears, excited for their life ahead.

Their Birthright Israel beginning continues to shape their relationship together in many ways. As a young married couple embarking on the journey of life, their Jewish identity has been infused into decisions small and large, ranging from Judaica on the wedding registry to the ways in which they plan to raise their future children. The backdrop of Israel during the first days of their relationship shaped the way in which they saw each other, the value they placed on their Jewish identities, and the future they wanted to build together. They often reminisce about their expectations that Birthright Israel would bring them closer to their Jewish heritages, and they are forever grateful that it brought them that and so much more!

A GRANDDAUGHTER'S UNDERSTANDING: SARA GREENBERG “From an early age, I knew Israel was an important place. My mother’s parents had both survived the Holocaust. After World War II, my grandfather, a survivor of Auschwitz, volunteered in a displaced persons camp in Germany helping other Jewish refugees get to British-controlled Palestine.

While my grandfather hoped to also emigrate to Eretz Yisrael, his one surviving family member from the war, his brother, was unable to secure a visa and instead they accompanied each other to the United States. While my grandfather spent his adult life in the U.S., he never ceased to remind me of the importance of Israel, the one Jewish State, the only nation that ensured the Holocaust would never happen again.

When I started college, I decided that it was time for me to get to know the Israel better.

I signed up for Birthright Israel because I

wanted to travel with a group of my peers to see, experience, and talk about what Israel meant for the Jewish people, what Israel meant for the world – but also what Israel meant for me.

My biggest take-away from my Birthright Israel trip was that I wanted to one day return to Israel to see and learn more!

This big take-away would eventually lead to me making Aliyah – 10 years later.

While my connection to Israel grew through a culmination of many different experiences, I credit Birthright Israel with giving me the initial “push” to keep exploring the “pull” I felt to the tiny country many miles away from where I grew up.”

In 2009, Sara made a documentary, B-2247: A Granddaughter’s Understanding, to tell her family’s story and reflect on the experience of learning about her grandparent’s survival of the Holocaust. The film is now shown to Birthright Israel participants prior to their visit to Yad Vashem.

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DONOR SPOTLIGHT

JESSE & DAVID WELLNER

JESSE AND DAVID WELLNER ARE BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL FOUNDATION DONORS, AND BROTHERS, LIVING IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA. Jesse lived in Israel for an extended period of time, including on a kibbutz when he was 18, and David and his wife, Danna, both participated in Birthright Israel in 2005 and 2007, respectively. Their personal connection to Israel and Judaism is rooted in being the grandchildren of four Holocaust survivors. With their joint contribution to Birthright Israel Foundation this year, Jesse and David honored their grandmother, Ada Gams, who instilled in them the core values of respect, gratitude and giving. They believe it is of critical importance that Israel remains a safe and welcoming place for their children – David has two young children, ages five and two – and want to ensure that Birthright Israel continues to be a thriving program for the next generation of young Jews.

WE SAT DOWN WITH JESSE AND DAVID TO LEARN A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THEIR CONNECTION TO BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL AND WHY THEY DECIDED TO MAKE A DONATION TO BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL FOUNDATION. JOURNEYS • ISSUE 7

WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL CONNECTION TO ISRAEL?

temple. The power of that image

DAVID: Before traveling to

rush washing over me.

sparked a flame in my core that will forever instruct my world view. To this day I can’t look at that photo without the prideful

Israel, I read Exodus, which today remains the most inspiring book I’ve read – and may or may not be my Gmail password. As a Jew, you grow up hearing a lot about miracles – the sea splitting, the

WHY DO YOU SUPPORT BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL FOUNDATION?

candles staying lit – what struck me is that the story of Israel is the ultimate miracle, and in my mind

DAVID: There are a lot of worthy

it’s the best kind, one that our

causes out there, but supporting

people really had to make happen

Birthright Israel Foundation gives

on our own.

me the rare, unique opportunity to

JESSE: My personal experience with Israel began well before I

‘pay back’ an organization that had a meaningful contribution to my life experiences.

spent the summer of my eighteenth year on Kibbutz in the Negev desert, before I spent my junior year of

JESSE: In business we spend

high school studying in Jerusalem,

countless hours and vast treasure

before I visited for the first time at

to determine the optimal way

the age of 16 with a group of Jewish

to market products and services,

teenagers on a magical tour of holy

which in many cases lack

land. My siblings and I, being the

inspiration. We long for the

grandchildren of four survivors of

product “that sells itself.” Anyone

the Holocaust, were at a very young

who’s had the privilege of visiting

age steeped in the unimaginable

the state of Israel knows the instant

history from which we came. The

they set foot on the Eretz that the

state of Israel and the blazing blue

lifelong love affair has begun. The

and white of her flag represented a

Eretz is the product that sells itself

strength and pride that shattered

and all we have to do is book the

the dark and suffocating cloud of

trip. The sense of satisfaction I

the Holocaust. For me, the love

get knowing that I’ve played some

and fascination began with a single

role in enabling that love affair

photo that my father had hung on

is overwhelming. I’m incredibly

the wall of my childhood bedroom.

grateful to the founders, operators

David Rubinger’s 1967 photo “At

and supporters of Birthright Israel

The Wailing Wall” of the young

for delivering such a compelling

Jewish soldiers with faces not

vehicle to advance the cause to

unlike my own standing for the

secure the existence of the Jewish

first time at the foot of the second

State of Israel.

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Annual

Giving Givin g CIRCLES BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL FOUNDATION

JOIN US!

ANNUAL

GIVING CIRCLES MISSION TO ISRAEL

JULY 10-14, 2017 JOURNEYS • ISSUE 7

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: Experience Israel through the eyes of Birthright Israel participants by joining dynamic programming with buses on the ground.

Be inspired by IDF soldiers and learn about the impact the program has on the state of Israel.

Speak with top leaders in the Israeli government and IDF – our partners in investing in this life-changing program.

Go behind the scenes with Birthright Israel’s operations team to see how we ensure the safety and security of 45,000 young adults annually.

Hear from Birthright Israel International CEO and top leadership on the implementation and evaluation of your investment and the vision for our next chapter.

Enjoy an inside look at Birthright Israel with new friends and like-minded leaders from across the country while enjoying fun and experiential cultural tours.

Celebrate with thousands of participants from around the world at a Birthright Israel signature Mega Event with live entertainment, international donors, and high-ranking officials from the government of Israel.

Welcome Shabbat at the Western Wall with a memorable gathering of Birthright Israel groups.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact Lauren Kassen: laura.kassen@birthrightisrael.org, (646) 453-2013 or visit birthrightisrael.foundation/mission2017 The mission is intended for Birthright Israel Foundation Annual Giving Circle Supporters ($3,000 or above to our 2017 Annual Campaign).

FROM OUR MISSION CHAIRS “Participating in last year's Campaign Ambassadors Mission allowed me to experience and internalize the impact of Birthright Israel firsthand. Meeting the participants from across the diaspora and sharing their experience was extremely impactful. I am honored to co-chair this year's mission in hopes of allowing other leaders to have a similar experience with the hope that they will bring that enthusiasm back to their communities.

I support Birthright Israel because it is the single most important organization for promoting and strengthening Jewish identity among Jews in the diaspora. The fact that over half a million young Jews have already traveled with Birthright Israel will transform the Jewish future and reinforce a sense of Jewish peoplehood throughout the world.”

- Debbie Cable, Boston, MA

“Being on the Campaign Ambassadors Mission last year was amazing. In four days we experienced a number of Birthright Israel trips and were able to interact with the participants. Hearing from them firsthand about what this trip means to them makes my donations more meaningful to me.

I support Birthright Israel because I truly believe it has changed the future of Jewish culture, it is a major factor in teaching young Jews about the importance of Israel and it is life-changing for those young people who attend. The money donated has an immediate impact on those it benefits.

I believe there is no better way to support Israel and to support the future of the Jewish people. The mission really allows one to see the direct benefit of this trip on the participants and allows those who experience it to understand how important it is to support Birthright Israel.”

- Barry Swidler, Long Island, NY JOURNEYS • ISSUE 7

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CASE for

GIVING In 2016, we unveiled our Case for Giving in an effort to communicate with our donors and the larger Jewish community why their support of Birthright Israel Foundation is crucial to the Jewish future. Our Case for Giving centers around three main ideas: Why Give, Why Us, and Why Now – furthering the notion that a gift to Birthright Israel Foundation is a gift to the Jewish people for our future and our present.

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WHY GIVE?

Support helps fund the Birthright Israel experience, allowing young Jewish people from around the world to receive the gift of a lifechanging journey and return home with a newfound connection to the Jewish community.

Birthright Israel is the leading organization of its kind, engaging with Jewish millennials directly, allowing them to forge a connection with their Jewish identity and Judaism on their own terms.

Birthright Israel has an impact not only on the future of the Jewish community but on the present.

WHY US? WHY NOW? Birthright Israel’s unique approach and programs foster an incomparable bond with Israel and its people.

Birthright Israel is constantly innovating new and effective ways to foster a true understanding of Israel with an increased focus on the context and complexities of the geopolitical reality surrounding the Middle East.

Birthright Israel participants return with a deeper understanding of Israel and its people, and feel motivated to share their experiences with their peers.

They are empowered to stand up for Israel, be proud of their Jewish heritage and encourage others to do so as well.

Birthright Israel impacts young Jewish adults during the most transformative times in their lives.

For many participants, Birthright Israel is a journey of self-discovery that provides clarity and meaning in ways they did not expect.

Our founders created Birthright Israel 16 years ago with the goal of sending every young Jewish person on a life-changing journey that would strengthen their bond with Israel and the Jewish community. While we have achieved great success to date, there is much work to be done to reach this monumental goal and ensure Birthright Israel is available for generations to come.

Birthright Israel currently sends 45,000+ participants to Israel each year, but that is just a tiny fraction of the estimated 1.6 million Jewish children under the age of 18 who will soon age into the Birthright Israel cohort.

By supporting Birthright Israel Foundation, you are imparting the importance of the state of Israel to a generation that has grown up without the knowledge of a world without a Jewish homeland.

Now more than ever, it is important that we sustain the Birthright Israel program so young Jews, present and future, can experience the same transformational journeys.

Please visit BIRTHRIGHTISRAEL.FOUNDATION/CASEFORGIVING TO VIEW OUR COMPLETE CASE FOR GIVING

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