Reflections in Honor of Yom Haatzmaut

BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL

FOUNDATION

REFLECTIONS IN HONOR OF YOM HAATZMAUT APRIL 2021

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BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL

FOUNDATION

Dear Friends, As one touches down on the tarmac of Ben Gurion Airport, there is an immediate sense of excitement and a feeling of arriving home no matter how many times you have visited Israel. It is our homeland.

It is a part of us all.

The sound of Hebrew being spoken by the taxi driver reminds us that what many think is an ancient language is part of a thriving and modern country. The smell of spices in the markets are foreign yet familiar. The feeling of your hand on the Kotel is not only powerful, but connects you to thousands of years of history and all those who placed their hands on the stone before you. The Old City reminds us of our past and Tel Aviv’s bustling city showcases our future.

These moments are magnified for our Birthright Israel participants, who come to Israel looking to find their place in the Jewish community, meaning in their connection to Judaism and a yearning to understand the importance of our homeland. When our participants board their planes to return home to 68 countries around the globe, they are bringing newfound knowledge, understanding and love of their people and Israel.

As we celebrate 73 years since the establishment of the modern State of Israel, we invite to you hear from 36 voices, including Rabbis, authors, thought leaders, philanthropists, community professionals and Ambassadors as they come together to celebrate the past, present and future of the State of Israel and the impact of Birthright Israel. May we look forward to a future filled with pride for our Jewish identities, an unconditional love for Israel and having our participants back on the ground experiencing all that awaits them.

Happy Yom Haatzmaut!

Warmly,

Thomas D. Stern CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Izzy Tapoohi PRESIDENT & CEO

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“IF YOU WILL IT, IT IS NO DREAM.” THEODOR HERZL Submissions appear in alphabetical order 2

Dr. Miriam Adelson Israeli American physician, philanthropist and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

For my late husband Sheldon and I, Birthright Israel was love at first sight. From the moment we were introduced to the project, we knew it had profound power and promise - a unique potential to help bring the Jewish State and the Diaspora closer.

Having been smitten with Israel during his first visit there, Sheldon saw the value of Birthright Israel’s concept of an introductory 10-day tour of the country. And I, an Israeli native who while studying in the United States had sensed that too many Diaspora Jews were losing touch with their ancestral homeland, saw in Birthright a means of turning these brethren abroad into defenders of Zionism.

And Birthright Israel has delivered!

Over the years, it has brought more than 750,000 young Jews from 68 countries to experience the real Israel - the Israel of beauty and boldness, of grace and grit, of dignity and drive. They have gone back to their native countries armed with the facts and primed to advocate on Israel’s behalf. They have also become better Jews, likelier to observe our sacred traditions and marry within the faith.

Put in business terms: Birthright Israel is an excellent investment. It is transformative. It is indispensable.

It yields benefits both short- and long-term, for all of us, whether as individuals or communities.

Yom Haatzmaut is not just Israel’s Independence Day. As the realization of our people’s 2,000-year dream of a reborn state, it marks a miracle for Jews everywhere. There is no more fitting a time to reflect on Birthright Israel’s crucial role in keeping this miracle going, for generations hence.

On behalf of Birthright Israel, I wish Israel a “Happy Birthday!” May each Yom Haatzmaut find you stronger, more peaceful and prosperous, and in harmony with your Diaspora brothers and sisters.

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Yossi Beilin Israeli politician and scholar

The original idea was quite simple: to create a Jewish meeting point, in a world in which most of the counterparts with whom young Jews meet are non-Jews.

My hope, which I first expressed in 1994, was to use Israel, the only Jewish state in the world, as the natural convening place, to allow Jewish students from all over the world to know each other and learn about each other, and hopefully to keep in touch when they return home.

I didn’t intend to turn the participants of Birthright Israel into “ambassadors” who should try to convince the world that the Israeli government of the day is totally right, while our neighbors’ policy is totally wrong.

For me, making Aliyah, as much as I wanted it, has been only a possibly byproduct of the project and the landscape was secondary in its importance to the creation of a young Jewish network.

Convincing the different stakeholders to support the project was a tough uphill battle, but eventually it became the biggest and most important Jewish project in the 21st century, mainly because we succeeded to bring to our meeting point, annually the majority of the Jewish cohort.

But in order to keep this success, we have to change and there is no better people than the graduates of Birthright Israel to help navigate the project in a changing reality.

Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman President, Yeshiva University

When people think about Birthright Israel, they usually consider the elevating effect of the Birthright Israel trips on its participants. Equally important is the elevating effect the Birthright Israel participants have on all those with whom they come into contact. Having lived in Israel for many years, I have seen firsthand how Birthright Israel participants inspire Israelis as the excitement of the participants of Birthright Israel reminds them of their own birthright and heritage. And now serving as a president of an American university, I better understand the incredible effect that returning Birthright Israel participants have on their campus and community. Their passion and connection to the Jewish past, present and future are infectious and create a concentric circle of positivity and Jewish pride.

Oftentimes, we see who we are through the eyes of others. And the eyes of the Birthright Israel experience are a mirror that reflects back so much positivity for so many communities throughout the world. Israel and Diaspora Jewry remain indebted to this incredible program for allowing so many to experience Israel through Birthright Israel’s eyes.

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Charles Bronfman Co-founder of Birthright Israel, Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist

Perhaps the greatest surprise of my life was the discovery that Birthright Israel [Taglit] was so widely accepted.

The second greatest surprise was that it became the most important educational platform for the Jewish world ever. In that light, there are three outcomes that we wished for, each of which has been achieved.

Throughout the years, we have asked the participants if they are happy that they are Jewish, pleased to be members of the Jewish people, and have a positive emotional feeling toward the State of Israel and Israelis.

Not only have the replies been an enthusiastic yes, but also thousands of participants have volunteered that “the trip changed my life” or “my life has been changed.” At the end of the day, it is those wonderful participants who have in effect made Birthright Israel [Taglit] what it is today.

To have been one of the founders of this great enterprise is a thrill beyond words. To have witnessed its growth because of the brilliantly successful work of everyone associated with the enterprise is so exciting. I can only hope that the Jewish world will continue to benefit from Birthright Israel [Taglit] for the next 73 years and beyond.

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Dr. Erica Brown Associate professor at The George Washington University and Director of its Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership

A destination postcard, according to Dan and Chip Heath in their book Switch, is “a vivid picture from the near-term future that shows what could be possible.” Their book is about change, especially when change is hard. If you want to take people somewhere they’ve never been and may be afraid to go, you need to create a compelling destination postcard. It’s like saying to someone, “Here’s an amazing place. Here’s what it looks like. Don’t you want to join me there?” The Heath brothers don’t minimize the work involved. They maximize the payoff. In fact, they observe that, “Destination postcards – pictures of a future that hard work can make possible – can be incredibly inspiring.”

In observing and celebrating Israel’s 73rd Independence Day, we turn back to Israel’s first destination postcard.

It’s one that Moses gave the Israelites in their wilderness trek to inspire them in the last years of a very difficult forty-year period of complaints and rebellions.

For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and hill; a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey; a land where you may eat food without stint, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you can mine copper. When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you (Deut. 8:7-10).

When the people were hungry and thirsty, parched by a desert landscape, the postcard Moses offered was everything they dreamed about in a land: multiple water sources, sweet and delicious fruit, and mineral resources.

All of this is framed within four Hebrew words that turn into five in English. Israel will be a land “where you will lack nothing.” Those are pretty inspiring words on a postcard; they helped the ragged Israelites cross the finish line, the Jordan River, into the land.

Telescoping thousands of years into the future, we finally actualized the vision of these biblical verses. We have become a land that lacks nothing. We have become a world center of democracy, creativity and innovation.

And then Birthright Israel created a new destination postcard for Israel. Suddenly students on campuses all over the world, some where hostility to Israel raged, began telling a different story about our homeland. It was a personal story about a trip that filled their hearts and changed their souls. It changed their way of thinking about being Jewish and helped them see Israel as a second home – and sometimes even a first home.

If you want to change the way people think about a place, you have to create a postcard that holds a vision.

Moses held up that vision and helped our people reach their destination. The founders and sustainers of Birthright Israel, consciously or unconsciously in imitation of Moses, offered an alternative vision of Israel’s relationship to young people from the Diaspora. It was bold and audacious, just like the State itself. It added an important new layer on top of an ancient dream. And that’s a lot to celebrate!

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William Daroff Chief Executive Officer, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations

The concept of Birthright Israel, to provide a guided trip to Israel for nearly any young North American Jew who wanted it, was born after demographic studies warned that the younger generation’s connection to Israel and to Jewish peoplehood was waning. Rarely has an evident crisis been met with such an ambitious response, and after over twenty years of operation and over 750,000 funded and facilitated trips to Israel, Birthright Israel’s achievements have outstripped even our wildest expectations.

As Israel settles into its septuagenarian decade and the memory of the founding and circumstances that caused it slowly fades from living memory, Birthright Israel plays a key role in developing the Jewish American connection, not just with the State of Israel, but also with each other. It has established a shared physical experience for young North American Jews from all walks of life, across the religious, political, cultural, and geographic spectrum, during a time when society has become far more fragmented, virtual, and siloed.

On Israel’s 73rd birthday, we take heart in the fact that Birthright Israel continues to bind us together as a people united by a shared heritage and homeland.

Dani Dayan Israeli-Argentine entrepreneur and former Consul General of Israel in New York

The amazing project that brings young Jews from all over the world to visit the State of Israel has two different names: Birthright Israel in English and Taglit, which means Discovery in Hebrew. In the spirit of our Talmudic tradition, we can ask the question: why two names? Similar cases in the Bible prompted scores of answers and heated debates between our Sages of Blessed Memory. In their footsteps, I will propose my interpretation for the need of a dual naming to this endeavor.

The impact of Birthright Israel/Taglit is immeasurable. It has been since its inception the most important program in the Jewish world that bonds our People and our State across continents and oceans. Multifaceted as it is, one name cannot encapsulate its entire scope. Birthright Israel is the reason. Taglit is the result. The Birthright – our Jewishness - prompts the Taglit, the discovery of our ancient roots in our historical homeland, and the exciting modern reincarnation of our sovereignty. That Taglit, that discovery fills indispensable voids in our birthright.

In the years I had the privilege to serve as Israel’s envoy to New York I could feel first-hand the impact that Birthright Israel/Taglit has over tens of thousands of young Jews. The alumni community is a pillar of the bond and support for the Jewish State. On this Yom Haatzmaut, as Israel hopefully returns to normalcy after the pandemic, we look forward to welcoming many more Birthright Israel/Taglit trips in our shared homeland.

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Rabbi Denise L. Eger Senior Rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood, CA and a past president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis

As we celebrate Israel’s 73rd birthday, I continue to be amazed by the beauty, strength and resiliency of the Jewish nation and all of the many different people who dwell there. My connection to the people and the land of Israel runs deep and has been fostered by living there at different periods of time, and by numerous trips to Israel. But also by bringing others to Israel to experience its vibrancy, its history, its people first-hand. This is the best way. Not through books or history classes but to walk the crowded streets of Tel Aviv, hike through the Negev, experience the hush of Shabbat over Jerusalem or take a swim in the Gulf of Eilat. Travelers to Israel build a relationship that isn’t filtered by slanted news reports. They meet Israelis of all kinds, Jew and Arab alike.

This is the beauty of Birthright Israel and its strength.

Birthright Israel trips for our Jewish young people have transformed their awareness and connection to Israel in ways that few Jewish organizations can say they have done. A Birthright Israel trip has become a Jewish rite of passage for those young Jewish people who live outside of the State of Israel. Our Jewish future is stronger because of the more than 750,000 young Jews who have made their pilgrimage to the land of our People, Israel. Birthright Israel shows our young people the resiliency of the Jewish People as embodied in the State of Israel.

Ambassador Gilad Erdan Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations

Reflecting on the past, present and future of Israel encapsulates the essence of Zionism. So much more than a political project that began in 19th century Europe and culminated in the re-establishment of the State of Israel 73 years ago, Zionism is eternal and reflects the Jewish people’s fundamental connection to the Land of Israel.

Jewish civilization began in the hills of Judea and spread to the rest of Eretz Yisrael. We were dispersed to the farthest corners of this earth but we never stopped striving to fulfill the Zionist dream: to be a free people in our land.

Today, in my dual role as Israel’s ambassador to the United States and to the United Nations, I am mindful that, as an Israeli, I am a living testament of the Zionist dream. However, I am in the minority. Many Jewish people have never even visited Israel, much less live there. That is why Birthright Israel is so essential. Israel is a central facet of Judaism and by bringing the younger generations to visit Israel Birthright Israel is helping to sustain not only the Jewish people but also the Jewish state.

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Barry Finestone President and CEO, Jim Joseph Foundation

As we celebrate Yom Haatzmaut, I think about the vibrancy, beauty, and wonder of the State of Israel. All of this shapes the remarkable story of Israel today and will shape it in the years ahead. Birthright Israel not only has brought tens of thousands of young adults into this story; it also enables them to be co-authors. Through the power of connections, each Birthright Israel participant discovers for themselves their inspiration to author Israel’s story.

Whether the connections are person to person, person to country, or between one’s own beliefs, heritage, and hopes, the common denominator is the powerful, dynamic, and thought-provoking landscape on which these connections are built and strengthened. Hundreds of thousands of young adults are writing Israel’s story and have Israel as a part of their stories because of their Birthright Israel experience.

Birthright Israel envisioned this phenomenon, understanding that authentic connections, genuine relationships, would carry it forward. What a gift this is to strengthen the global Jewish community, to inspire each alumni and their families, and to help author the next chapter of a vibrant, strong, beautiful Eretz Israel.

Eric Fingerhut President and CEO of The Jewish Federations of North America

When historians of the future look back on this period, no story of human ingenuity, strength, and resilience will loom as large as Israel’s remarkable 73 years of independence. From a powerless remnant to a world power, from a scattered people to a high-tech economy, and from a tiny minority of world Jewry to the largest Jewish population in the world, Israel’s growth and success takes our breath away.

Even more exhilarating than Israel’s economic and military success, is the rise of Israel as the center of Jewish culture. To be in Israel is to be overwhelmed by all of our senses – art, literature, cuisine, music – all infused with Israel’s ethnic melting pot and its rich base of academia and religious studies. What a time to be alive, to be a part of the global Jewish people, and to participate in the greatest moment of Jewish leadership in millennia! And what a time to have Birthright Israel bringing hundreds of thousands of young Jews to share in the excitement and build their own relationship to Israel!

On this 73rd celebration of Israel’s Independence, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, we look forward to the skies reopening, Birthright Israel trips landing at Ben Gurion once again, and the arms of Jews around the world embracing as we return to walk the streets of Jerusalem and revel in the excitement and beauty of the Jewish state.

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Hillel Fuld American Israeli technology blogger, vlogger, business advisor and international speaker

It’s nearly impossible to properly communicate the impact of Birthright Israel into words. If one had to try to get an understanding of that impact, they would have to answer a question that was popularly asked by Gary Vaynerchuk: “What’s the ROI of your mother?”

Gary went on to say, “The reason I am able to do anything I do now... is because of my mother. The way she parented me is the reason I have the confidence and passion to do what I do.”

This is very much in line with the magic, and lasting impact of Birthright Israel.

For better or worse, all it takes is one person to change the world. Birthright Israel managed to inspire and connect over 750,000 young Jews to the glory of Israel.

That’s over 750,000 minds that developed a spiritual connection with Israel after experiencing the enchantment of the land and her people. Over 750,000 minds that witnessed Israel is not what the media paints it out to be. And yes, over 750,000 minds that became inspired to become involved with Israel’s dynamic and diverse startup ecosystem.

The impact of Birthright Israel boils down to the ROI of Jewish unity. When we’re united, we thrive. When we thrive, the world thrives.

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Rabbi Yitz Greenberg President of the JJ Greenberg Institute for Jewish Life, Hadar Institute of New York and Jerusalem

Birthright Israel/Taglit is more than a phenomenally successful program which has brought 750,000 young Jews to Israel to deeply connect to the Jewish state and to their Jewish identity. In its impact and role in Jewish life, it is an accomplishment of historic, literally of Biblical proportions.

In Biblical times, aliyah l’regel (holiday pilgrimage) became the linchpin experience of Jewish commitment.

People who lived a humdrum Jewish life all year in Israel or the Diaspora would go up to Jerusalem and visit the Temple and holy places. They experienced an intense religious exposure, a moving encounter with Jewish history, the ineffable sense of holiness of the land, the vitality of life in a Jewish state and, not least, bonded with existing peer Jews from around the world. The pilgrimage was available three times a year, but for many, the cost and effort made it a once in a lifetime event. The few days pilgrimage shaped them for a lifetime and became a source of pride and inspiration for their Jewish lives.

Birthright Israel/Taglit offers each and every one of these transformational experiences to its participants. By reaching more than 50% of the cohort of young Jews it is turning the trip into a rite of passage and an expected norm for young Jews. Thus, a new historic institution is being born. It has the power to tilt the outcome of Jewish life in Diaspora from drift away toward identification with Jewry, from abstention to participation in community life and from indifference and mediocrity to living an inspired Jewish life.

Harold Grinspoon and Diane Troderman Harold Grinspoon Foundation

We can still vividly remember Michael’s speech that first time we joined the Birthright Israel group in Israel.

It was so motivating. Charles inspires us with his unwavering commitment, showing up all over the world to talk about Birthright Israel with eloquence and passion. We are honored to be a partner of Birthright Israel because we know that the experience of exposing young adults to Israel is an eye-opening opportunity.

We want to congratulate both Michael Steinhardt and Charles Bronfman for their insight, advocacy and leadership helping to create a love of Israel, Jewish history and traditions in the hearts and minds of young adults. Fostering a Jewish/Israel connection, as Birthright Israel does, further inspired us to develop PJ Library and then Sifriyat Pijama.

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Isaac Herzog Chairman, The Jewish Agency for Israel

There is nothing like a first-hand experience to create a lasting impression and a real understanding of a person, place, idea. As we celebrate Israel’s 73rd Independence Day, thanks to Taglit, we have hundreds of thousands of Jews from all corners of the globe whose eyes light up when our nation of Israel is mentioned. The wonderful 10-day experience that jump-started a connection to Israel for so many Jews serves as a gateway to a lasting relationship with the Jewish people and the Jewish State. Taglit sparks the personal ties between world Jewry and Israel that carry our essential bond forward, while allowing participants to experience the pieces of the mosaic of Israeli life that most speak to them. They find their Israel on Taglit, their personal connection to our people and our land.

The Jewish Agency for Israel believes creating these connections and experiences is among the most important steps we can take in building our future as a people. Taglit is a life-changing experience, setting Israel engagement in motion in a highly impactful way. We will continue to support Taglit’s mission as we all work together to continue connecting the next generation to our past and to our future.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs President, Union for Reform Judaism

When Birthright Israel (BRI) was founded in 1999, no one could have anticipated the profound impact it would make on the Jewish community. Since then, over 750,000 young Jews have made this journey forging a deeper, stronger, more sacred connection to the Jewish State and to the Jewish people. The ten-day trip has become a rite of passage for so many, positively redirecting the trajectory of their Jewish lives, and I’m proud that the URJ has been a long-time partner and provider of this transformational experience.

Over the years, I have loved teaching BRI groups and leading them in Shabbat prayers, listening to their emotional stories of what it meant to kindle Shabbat candles for the first time. Through BRI’s vision of providing a way into Jewish life, they have created an incredibly powerful experience, especially for those with tenuous connections to the Jewish community. When this deadly, disruptive pandemic finally ends, I look forward to seeing Israel once again filled with busloads of eager Birthright Israel travelers. This Yom Haatzmaut, let us especially join with Birthright Israel alumni and supporters worldwide in celebrating 73 years of Israel’s independence.

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Yossi Klein Halevi Senior Fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute

Among the painful voids of this last year is the absence of Birthright Israel buses filled with enthusiastic young Diaspora Jews discovering Israel and their Jewish identities. Birthright Israel has become such an essential part of the Israeli landscape that even its temporary suspension is felt as a rupture, a violation of the natural order.

Birthright Israel helps young Jews understand that their lives coincide with one of the most remarkable moments in Jewish history. It is about falling in love.

Birthright Israel has been criticized for failing to expose participants to the complexities of Israel and especially to the Palestinian conflict; but those critics are wrong. Birthright Israel is a “dayenu” experience: If all that it achieves is creating an emotional connection between Diaspora Jews and Israel, that is enough.

Still, like “Dayenu,” there is always the anticipation of new achievements. Birthright Israel needs educational follow-ups to help its graduates deepen their relationship with Israel and the Jewish people. I know there have been efforts in that direction; perhaps this moment of pause is a time to consider how to deepen those efforts.

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Howard Kohr CEO, AIPAC

On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion breathed life into the modern State of Israel.

His words reaffirmed the Land of Israel as the birthplace of the Jewish people, where their spiritual, religious and political identity were shaped, and where – after millennia of oppression and persecution – they would return as masters of their own fate.

Seventy-three years later, we are the ones to witness what for so many generations was merely a dream: A sovereign, Jewish State of Israel.

A vibrant Israeli democracy whose citizens are driven to innovate and make our world better.

A nation of people surrounded by violent adversaries, undaunted in their quest for peace and security.

As Americans committed to Israel’s safety, we have a vital role to play to ensure the U.S.-Israel relationship remains strong.

There is simply no better way to understand Israel’s remarkable journey, and appreciate all that it has become, than by experiencing it firsthand.

Birthright Israel makes that experience possible.

So on Israel’s 73rd birthday, I want to express my profound gratitude to you for providing a gateway to the Jewish state, for inspiring the next generation of Jewish leaders to play an active role in securing its future, and for all you do to ensure Am Yisrael Chai, today and always.

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Robert Kraft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Kraft Group and the New England Patriots

I still vividly remember my first trip to Israel. I went there on my honeymoon with my sweetheart in 1963. We stayed in Jerusalem at the King David Hotel. I’ll never forget how frustrated I was to look out my window and see Jordanian soldiers on the Old City walls, preventing us from going to visit the Kotel. After the reunification of the country in 1967, I returned to Jerusalem, intent on visiting the wall. I still remember the goose bumps I had when I approached the wall and how emotional and powerful that moment was for me when I kissed it and said a prayer at the wall for the first time.

As we celebrate Yom Haatzmaut, it is amazing to consider all that the country has achieved in its first 73 years.

The grit and determination exhibited by the earliest Zionist pioneers laid the foundation for an amazing nationstate that has provided a home for Jews from around the world. There is simply no place in the world quite like Israel. It is a biblical Holy Land that continues to preserve its rich history while developing as a global leader in innovation and technology by fostering an entrepreneurial spirit that is woven into the fabric of its society. The results of this ingenuity benefits Israelis as well as others around the world.

Israel has accomplished so much in my lifetime. I can only imagine what the next generation will achieve.

I hope young Jews from around the world will continue to take part in the Birthright Israel experience and visit and take pride in the country that aspires to be an “Or LaGoyim,” light onto the nations.

What a privilege that after 2,000 years this amazing country was established in our lifetime - Am Yisrael Chai.

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Rav Benny Lau Rabbi, community leader, activist, author, and public speaker

Every season of the year has something that makes it unique. The light of Israel’s Independence Day, preceded by the awe-inspiring days of the IDF Remembrance and Holocaust Remembrance Days, elevates all individuals with a yearning Jewish soul. Everyone that finds themselves in Israel during these days, when the sirens of our Remembrance Days and the official state ceremony celebrating Independence Day feels their hearts filling with happiness and love. But what is this love and where does it come from?

There is in this love a kind of local and natural indigenousness, a belonging that cannot be described with words, a belonging that is felt in our senses to the body of the land.

And there is the love for the soul of the land, for its spirits and for its very idea. The land that receives meaning from its past, from the story, from the Torah. Words like destiny and choice are what makes this connection.

There may be peoples who explain their connection to their land in a much simpler way, in that people are born, live and die in their land, sometimes in a house or dwelling that has existed for generations. The connection needs no words, it is just natural.

For the Jewish people there is a deep foundation of longing, that is an all-encompassing dream and passion.

A prayer for Zion and Jerusalem.

How do we meet this land? What type of new encounters have been created and are being created in a return to Zion today?

Birthright Israel experiences are what burns the physical and spiritual longing and hope of the previous generations into the young Jewish adults, participating in the program, through this deep connection may you also connect to the dream and to the vision: “

“

When God returned us to Zion we were like dreamers.

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Ronald S. Lauder President, World Jewish Congress

A number of years ago, I was talking to a group of Jewish students who came to Shabbat services every week at their college Hillel. I asked them what brought them there and I was fascinated by their response. A third of them came from observant families. A third had gone to Jewish Day Schools or summer camps. But what surprised me was that the other third said they were there, celebrating Shabbat, because they had gone on Birthright Israel. There it was, right in front of me: Birthright Israel brought young Jews back into the fold.

The Land of Israel is the priceless heritage of Jews around the world and Birthright Israel has done a truly extraordinary job connecting young Jews with that legacy — many of whom would never have had the opportunity to experience the miracle of the rebirth of the Jewish People.

By reenergizing Jewish identity and strengthening the ties between Jews in the Diaspora and in Israel, Birthright Israel has made a priceless contribution to the strength of the Jewish State and the vitality of the Jewish People.

Today, thanks to Birthright Israel, tens of thousands of Jews throughout the world are forever tied to Israel and have become its ambassadors, advocates and champions. These individuals, many of whom are now adults and active in the global Jewish community, take enormous pride in their traditions and are pillars of their own Jewish communities.

This cohort is another unbreakable link in the long chain that connects the Jewish people to its past with the future. In my mind, nothing could be more moving then seeing Birthrighters—especially those whose connection to their Jewish roots was once tenuous at best—scale Masada or visit the Western Wall for the first time.

It is impossible for any Jew to see this and not be moved. This is what Birthright Israel has accomplished and it is enormous.

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Adam Lehman President & CEO Hillel International

Birthright Israel is a life-changing opportunity for every person lucky enough to experience it. Participants learn how their personal stories are connected to the larger narrative of the Jewish People and to the unique and timeless role that Israel plays within that narrative. They see and feel the pulsating vibrancy, rich diversity and miracle that is the modern state of Israel – and come to realize that they are an integral part of the Jewish People, no matter their background, upbringing or life story. They discover their family is much larger than they had previously thought – including the Israeli soldier they meet, the new lifelong friends they make, and the many other Israelis they encounter who are eager to connect with them. Birthright Israel gives them the chance to celebrate and bond around Jewish community and Jewish life at the moment they are shaping their futures; to experience Jewish rituals, often for the first time, together with their newfound best friends; and to feel the powerful experience of living Jewishly in a Jewish country. And for those traveling with their Hillels, they become part of a bonded campus community that will serve as their gateway to Jewish life for years to come.

Happy 73rd birthday Israel! May it be a year filled with meaning, tens of thousands of Birthright Israel participants, abundant Shecheyanus, joy, dance, laughter and many other blessings for Israel, the Jewish People and the world.

Senator Joseph Lieberman Former United States Senator, lobbyist and attorney

On this Independence Day, I wanted to express my continued support for Birthright Israel, an organization that has worked tirelessly for years to connect the global Jewish community with Israel through immersive and engaging educational experiences. Over the last two decades, the organization has helped instill a sense of community and pride in young Jews across the globe by weaving together the past, present and future of Israel. Despite the many challenges posed by the pandemic, Birthright Israel has found creative ways to continue providing Diaspora Jews the opportunity to bond -- which is needed now more than ever.

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Russell Robinson Chief Executive Officer Jewish National Fund, USA

Nervousness, enthusiasm, adventure, friendship, and memories are all words 750,000 participants attending Birthright Israel have expressed.

Our identity as a Jew and our feelings about our traditions, seeing the footprints of those left before us, and allowing them to leave fingerprints for the generations yet unborn is the power of Birthright Israel.

Whether it was a trip to the Western Wall, riding a camel, climbing to the top of Masada in the shadows of a sunrise, going to Tel Aviv or laying a wreath at Yad Vashem, the power of Birthright Israel has given 750,000 young people an incredible lifetime experience which will impact their lives, Israeli lives, and our Jewish Community for the future.

Individuals from diverse upbringings, backgrounds, interests and beliefs come back with mutual respect and come home with new friendships.

The memories of a Birthright Israel trip will last forever and more importantly, the moments and connections with the people of Israel will be kept alive by these young people who will be the leadership of our Jewish Community. Happy Birthday to Israel! Thank you, Birthright Israel!

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Rabbi Arthur Schneier Senior Rabbi Park East Synagogue

We are privileged to celebrate the rebirth of the Jewish nation 73 years ago; a dream fulfilled. The sacrifices of generations and the gathering of Jews from different parts of the world have brought about the creation of the vibrant State of Israel, fulfilling its mission to be a “light unto the nations” and most recently, a beacon of hope amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since its founding in 1999, Birthright Israel has been a pillar of Jewish continuity, bonding thousands of Jewish young adults from around the world with the ancient homeland of the Jewish people, strengthening their Jewish identity and peoplehood.

Our granddaughter, Casey Dresbach, returned from her Birthright Israel mission inspired by the creativity, innovation, and dedication of our Israeli brothers and sisters, particularly those who are committed to the security of the Jewish State through their service to Tzahal, the Israeli Defense Forces. She experienced firsthand what can be achieved when “Jews are responsible for one another.”

Birthright Israel Foundation and their dynamic leadership and vision, has energized wide support for Birthright Israel from the American Jewish community. The seed they have planted is bearing fruit and will be a longlasting contribution to Am Yisrael Chai and inspire a rising generation of Jewish leaders.

Go from strength to strength in the service of Israel and the Jewish People.

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Rabbi Marc Schneier Founding/Senior Rabbi, The Hampton Synagogue

Recently, the head of a preeminent national synagogue organization, designated The Hampton Synagogue as the most prominent philanthropic congregation in the Jewish world.

In an ongoing demonstration of unparalleled congregational support, we have hosted multitudes of charitable events for institutions and worthwhile causes both in the United States and Israel.

The leadership of that national body witnessed that Shabbat, while visiting our community, an unprecedented outpouring of generosity for Birthright Israel’s cross county synagogue campaign launched at The Hampton Synagogue. The formula is simple. By investing in Birthright Israel the benefactor is also the beneficiary.

One of the greatest challenges facing young American Jews is the growing distance between the people of the book and the books our people. A generation without Jewish memories is a generation without Jewish hopes.

Thanks to the extraordinary achievements of Birthright Israel, hundreds of thousands of young women and men have expanded their horizons, enlarged their interests, and have reclaimed their Jewish identity and homeland - the State of Israel.

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Lynn Schusterman Chair Emerita Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies

Since Birthright Israel launched 20 years ago, I have had the opportunity to join thousands of young people as they experience Israel for the first time. Riding on the bus, talking over hummus, dancing at Mega Events— this is how I would hear their stories of feeling accepted, connected and proud to be Jewish for the first time in their lives.

As I listened to their stories, I could hear my own.

When I was young, Birthright Israel did not exist. I was in my forties when I first experienced Israel, visiting with my late husband, Charlie, and our three children in 1978. I learned then what all Birthright Israel participants quickly realize: that Israel makes a powerful first impression. Walking the streets of Jerusalem, I felt an overwhelming connection to my heritage, my history and my global Jewish family.

Today, Birthright Israel gives young Jews this opportunity to forge a meaningful connection with Israel early in life. It puts young people on the path toward shaping our Jewish future and maintaining an enduring connection to Israel. And it brings together the full diversity of our Jewish community, welcoming Jews of all backgrounds to our ancestral homeland.

Birthright Israel gives me great hope for our future as a connected global Jewish people and the continued success of the State of Israel. I am grateful for all the Birthright Israel staff, alumni and supporters who make this work possible, and I look forward to all Birthright Israel has in store for generations to come!

Shuly Rubin Schwartz Chancellor, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America

When my parents spoke Hebrew to me as a child in our home on Long Island, I imbibed the Zionist convictions that had blossomed in my great grandparents’ home in eastern Europe many decades earlier. Because of this, when I was privileged to visit Israel for the first time as a teenager, it proved transformative. Meeting Israelis of all ages, visiting historic and contemporary sites, speaking Hebrew, and experiencing Israeli culture, I felt that I was fulfilling a deep desire that so many Jews had only dreamed about for millennia. This trip gave me the opportunity to begin cultivating my own adult connection to the State of Israel, to our rich history, heritage, and tradition as Jews.

As JTS—an institution of Jewish higher learning that educates students in the breadth and depth of our tradition—trains leaders to nurture these connections in others, we celebrate with Israel as it marks its 73rd birthday. We also rejoice knowing that thanks to Birthright Israel, thousands of young Jews have been able to begin to forge their own ties not only to the State but also to our people, our culture, and our faith.

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David Shapira Chairman of the David S. and Karen A. Shapira Foundation

My first trip to Israel wasn’t my idea.

In the summer of 1960 I had planned to travel across Europe on $5 a day. When my grandfather found out my plans didn’t include Israel, he sent me a round trip plane ticket from Switzerland to Tel Aviv to use at some point during the summer. Through the one person I knew in Israel, a family friend, I found myself working on Kibbutz Ein Dor. It was there and then that I formed a relationship with Israel – the land and its people. With the soil between my fingers, I came to appreciate our people’s return home to the land we yearned for, for so long. But it was living with and talking to Israelis that I came to understand and appreciate the heart and soul of the people who made it their purpose to build a nation there. And they learned a little about what it was like to be Jewish in America.

I had planned to spend a few days in Israel that summer. It turned into two months.

This Yom Haatzmaut, I marvel at the idea that Birthright Israel’s founders figured out how to give a whole generation of young Jews that experience my grandfather and that Israeli family friend had given to me.

The relationships forged between Birthright Israel participants and Israeli soldiers through Birthright Israel’s mifgash, forges lasting bonds by forcing both to create and challenge conceptions of what it means to be Jewish, in Israel and the diaspora.

This Yom Haatzmaut, I am grateful to live in a world where it exists.

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Natan Sharansky Israeli politician, activist and author

The Jewish world beyond Israel faces an assimilation epidemic. While visiting most of the Jewish communities in the world, I could see there are only two sets of brakes that can counter assimilation: faith and Zionism – connection to Jewish tradition and connection to the State of Israel.

It took time for The World Jewry to realize that Israel is not only opportunity to make Aliyah, not only the state you can support, but that it can be the best tool to strengthen the Jewish Identity of your children. Birthright Israel played a revolutionary role in this realization.

Over twenty years ago, Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt, came up with a simple idea – “to make our children proud of their Jewishness, there is no better way than to come to Israel and to discover the connection with the Jewish history, people, and country. So let’s give every young Jew such an opportunity”. They offered Israel to become a partner in the project. The process of convincing the government to invest in the project took years.

It wasn’t easy. Many in the government considered this a strange idea: “Why should Israel give money to rich American Jews to bring their children to Israel? They have to give money to us!” But this new program was worth fighting for. After all, strengthening connection of young Jews with their people, tradition and the Jewish State is in the best interest of both Israel and the World Jewry.

I was proud to participate in the historic meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office with Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt. We watched with excitement, as Prime Minister Netanyahu signed the letter that turned this fantasy into that great Jewish identity-building project, Taglit-Birthright Israel.

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Paul E. Singer Founder, President, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Elliott Investment Management and founder of the Paul E. Singer Foundation

As we honor the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, I would like to express my profound and very personal appreciation for Birthright Israel, which has transformed the bond between young Jews and the Jewish State.

There have been several years during my lifetime when the Jewish people doubted that Israel would live to see its next anniversary; by strengthening the ties between Israel and the Diaspora, and in turn, the U.S.-Israel relationship, Birthright Israel has helped make that fear almost unthinkable today. It may be possible to count the number of trips it has organized, but its impact has been and will continue to be incalculable.

Over the years, Israel has been the platform for my own special experiences with family and friends. There’s nothing quite like spending the morning in a Bedouin tent, having lunch in the Old City of Jerusalem, and ending the daydreaming about the future with the Start-Up Nation’s entrepreneurs in Tel Aviv. In supporting Birthright Israel, I’m proud to give the gift of this experience to young Jews from around the world.

And I have been so inspired by Birthright Israel’s model and mission that, along with committed partners, I found a way to give this gift to young people who are not Jewish but care deeply about the land and people of Israel. Passages takes thousands of young American Christian student leaders to Israel each year, cementing a lifelong connection to the Jewish State. Like Birthright Israel alumni, these young men and women are some of Israel’s most stalwart allies. And without Birthright Israel, their experience would not have been possible.

To Birthright Israel—thank you for two decades of service and inspiration.

And to the State of Israel: yom huledet sameach!

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Andrés Spokoiny President & CEO of the Jewish Funders Network

One of my favorite stories by the Hebrew writer Shai Agnon is about the inhabitants of a Polish shtetl who, in the midst of the pogroms, find a magic cave that can take them straight to the Land of Israel. Nowadays, that magic cave actually exists in the form of Birthright Israel, and the secret passage is an aluminum cylinder with wings and a Star of David on its tail.

We don’t always recognize how privileged we are to be able to do what for 2,000 years was a wild fantasy: be delivered on the wings of eagles not merely to the land where our story began, but to a state where we are sovereign, where Jews from all over the world have found refuge. That small sliver of land at the east end of the Mediterranean Sea connects us to an unbroken chain of memories and hopes.

When I was growing up in Buenos Aires in the dark years of the Argentinian military government, Israel was a sanctuary for me. I dreamed of being there and thought that it was a model country that could do no wrong.

I don’t believe that anymore. But discovering that Israel is not perfect didn’t make me love her less. It made me committed to making her better, to ensuring that the dream of generations doesn’t convert into a nightmare, to fight for the ideal while recognizing the beauty of the real.

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Michael H. Steinhardt Co-founder of Birthright Israel, chair of the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish life

Since my first trip to Israel at the age of 22, nearly six decades ago, I have always seen the Jewish state and its people as a powerful source of inspiration and Jewish pride. From my own experience, I know a visit to Israel can have a huge impact on one’s sense of Jewish possibilities.

More than twenty years ago, I realized that giving large numbers of young Diaspora Jews the opportunity to experience Israel through a free educational trip could do a great deal to bolster Jewish identity and engagement in the Diaspora. Charles Bronfman and I set out to create what became Birthright Israel with the audacious idea that a group of philanthropists, in partnership with the State of Israel, could bring tens of thousands of Jewish young adults each year on their first trip to Israel, and that this could meaningfully help stem the tide of assimilation.

It worked. Birthright Israel has brought hundreds of thousands of young adults from the Diaspora, mostly secular American Jews, to journey in the land and explore together what it means to be Jewish. Studies have shown that the Birthright Israel experience has a marked impact, even 10 and 20 years later, on participants’ sense of connection to the Jewish people, their involvement in Jewish life and their tendency to befriend and even marry other Jews.

On the trip, Birthright Israel participants discover, often for the first time, that being Jewish need not be so much a matter of faith or religious observance, but of being part of the extended family that is the Jewish people—with Israel as its home. They discover that Israel is not only its Biblical landscape and the conflicts they hear about on the news, but also a vibrant society, brimming with innovation in fields ranging from technology to science to culture. Israel stops being for them a charity case in need of our help, and instead becomes a dynamic center of Jewish life, accomplishing great things.

On the eve of celebrating seventy-three years since the founding of the State of Israel, my hope is that the Israeli spirit—its boldness, its determination, its creativity—will inspire the next generations of Jews in the Diaspora towards a new sense of Jewish pride. As Birthright Israel grows, I look forward to a relationship between American Jewry and Israel in which the vibrant culture and life of the Jewish state have become for us an endless source of inspiration.

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Gil Troy Professor, Distinguished Scholar of North American History at McGill University

Two decades ago, at a critical moment in Jewish history, as we left the unnerving, confusing, Holocaust-scarred yet Israel-enhanced twentieth century, Taglit-Birthright Israel made a bold, counter-cultural move. Birthright Israel’s glorious reset countered the trends toward ever-more assimilation, toward a constant obsession with anti-Semitism, and toward Peoplehood entropy – with both individuals and their local communities increasingly self-involved.

Offering a group experience – the bus -- reminded everyone that Judaism is best lived in plural, that when you belong to the Jewish people, you’re never alone. Launching that shared journey in Israel affirmed that Judaism has a foundation embedded in our homeland while reaching out globally.

Since then, having inspired and challenged more than 750,000 Jews – along with their families and friends – Birthright Israel has proved to be one of the greatest Jewish educational initiatives since the Talmud. The Talmud brought the Torah alive; Birthright brings the land and people of Israel alive: enriching us today by rooting Jews in a conversation about yesterday –Tradition! -- while empowering us to chart an exciting new Jewish tomorrow. The Talmud taught that Judaism is textured and multi-dimensional, standing on certain eternal truths while forever leaping to new conclusions; Birthright Israel shows that modern Jewish identity is neither everything to everyone nor just one thing that one special someone dictates.

The Birthright Israel slingshot, then, invites young Jews to catapult from nothings to somethings, from “I” to “us,” from passive consumers to active proprietors, from living in the moment to flowing and shaping the Jewish people’s great forever-adventure.

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Mark Wilf Chair of the JFNA Board of Trustees, attorney, and partner in Garden Homes

Birthright Israel and the Jewish Federations share three central goals: to strengthen the State of Israel, to build connections between Israel and the global Jewish community, and to engage the next generation of Jewish leaders. That’s why our partnership has been so rich and rewarding. Jewish Federations have helped send hundreds of thousands of North American Jewish young adults to Israel on Birthright Israel trips.

As chairman of The Jewish Federations of North America, I speak on behalf of Jewish leaders across the continent. Many of us are parents whose children have benefited from Birthright Israel experiences. We have seen the dramatic effect these trips can have on our children’s lives. And on our own visits to Israel, spotting Birthright Israel buses is always a highlight. When we see those iconic buses, we know that, yet another group of young adults is forging deep and lasting connections with their Jewish homeland.

As we celebrate Israel’s 73rd birthday during this challenging time, full of pride for its accomplishments, JFNA also salutes Birthright Israel for staying on the forefront of innovation during the pandemic, continuing to engage Jewish young adults even when travel was not possible. Kol hakavod!

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Rabbi David Wolpe Max Webb Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles

Let me tell you two remarkable stories about the founding of Israel. One involves the vote for what was called the “Uganda” plan. It was devised to create a land for Jews in Africa, not in Israel. The plan would save those Jews in distress and many, including for a while Herzl himself, favored it. The vote at the Zionist congress hinged on the delegation from Kishinev in Russia, who had just undergone a terrible pogrom. People had been beaten and many had died. Of all the Jews there, none had a better reason to vote “yes.” The delegation voted “no.” Herzl marveled – their necks are in the noose, he said, yet they vote “no.”

The “no” was a statement of love for the land of Israel. Nowhere else would do. Israel it had to be -- for its hills and valleys and traditions and majesty and history.

The second story concerns what Chaim Weizmann, later the first President of Israel, said to the British Peel commission when they asked why he would not support creating a state elsewhere. “That is like my asking why you drove 50 kilometers last week to see your mother when there are so many other lovely old ladies on your same block.” In other words, it had to be Israel. Israel was ours.

Birthright Israel. The name is as true as the mission. Israel is the birthright of every Jew and for over 20 years now it has introduced Jews to their motherland. This tiny, astounding state now celebrates its 73rd birthday.

They have not been easy or frictionless years. But the “no” of Kishinev has turned into the “yes” of Jerusalem.

All those young people have seen a bustling, vibrant, colorful, land built with heart and hand and spirit. We are filled with gratitude for all who worked and sacrificed and fought and prayed and struggled to give us our holy land in a modern key. And humbly we thank God for bringing us home.

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INDEPENDENCE: A PEOPLE’S TALE Israel celebrates its 73rd anniversary as an independent, sovereign and modern member of the family of nations --- a recognition which, ultimately, should never be taken for granted.

The rebirth of the Jewish homeland is not merely a dramatic historical achievement, but a profound reignition of assets, triumphs and contributions, alongside the challenges and struggles which are endemic to any living enterprise. Indeed, some of the greatest challenges for any dreamed-of vision surface in the wake of its success, rather than failure ---- and the modern Zionist vision of a reborn Jewish homeland is no exception.

Israel was formed not only as a Jewish and democratic state, but also as the homeland of the entire Jewish people --- not only those residing in Israel. In fact, the story of modern Israel arguably presents some fascinating similarities to the Passover Hagaddah narrative we have just recently read, one of which being that both stories celebrate the power of the people, not its leader(s). The people are not at the tail --- THEY are the tale! While Moses is the uncontested hero of the biblical Exodus story, his presence of absence is a powerful motif in the Passover Haggadah, whose chief aim is to celebrate our collective thrust as a people forged into a nation. Likewise, Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day) is not simply a celebration commemorating a Declaration Day by Ben-Gurion and the People’s Council, but an acknowledgement of the collective memory, commitment, dedication, passion and sacrifice perpetually fueling its realization – by the Jewish people entire, both in Israel and worldwide.

Birthright Israel was launched on Israel’s 52nd anniversary, some twenty-one years ago, aiming, among other things, to raise our young generation’s awareness not only to the remarkable achievement called “Israel”, but to the fact that their lives and stories are intrinsically intertwined with it and vice versa; that each of them has a stake in Israel’s envisioned trajectory --- now and for generations to come.

The previous entries featured prominent Jewish leaders, thinkers and professionals who have a deep stake at Birthright Israel’s continued contribution to world Jewry and the State of Israel. Each shares his/her own view regarding both Yom Haatzmaut and Birthright Israel’s role as the leading Jewish educational enterprise of this era. I am positive that their words will serve as sources of wisdom and inspiration to us all.

Dr. Zohar Raviv

INTERNATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT OF EDUCATIONAL STRATEGY, BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL

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BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL

FOUNDATION

Birthright Israel Foundation

711 Third Avenue

New York, NY 10017

birthrightisrael.foundation