以色列生存权

Turn off all ads on VICE.com Exclusive New VICE Documentaries Member Exclusive Features & Columns Turn off all ads on VICE.com Exclusive New VICE Documentaries Member Exclusive Features & Columns Turn off all ads on VICE.com Exclusive New VICE Documentaries Member Exclusive Features & Columns 4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door Like military recruitment and bake sales, the Birthright Israel table has become a staple on college campuses throughout the world, but particularly in America. “Are you Jewish?” the students behind the table may ask you as you walk by. The poster below them reads, “More than just a free trip to Israel.” Some return from their Birthright trips glowing, boasting of the sights they’ve seen and their newfound connection to a home away from home. Others return skeptical of their ten days in a foreign place, feeling that their introduction to the country is missing pieces. No matter their individual reactions to the trip, Birthright Israel is increasingly polarizing on college campuses—but why? Since 1999, the organization Birthright Israel has offered all-expenses-paid trips to Israel to Jewish people around the world between the ages of 18 and 26. Yes, you read correctly: This really is a free trip. Why? The organization, funded by both the Israeli government and individual donors, “seeks to ensure the future of the Jewish people by strengthening Jewish identity, Jewish communities, and connection with Israel,” according to its website. In the past two decades, it has sent nearly 700,000 young Jewish people on Birthright trips. The idea is that, if young Jews have the chance to visit Israel during this formative time in their lives, they are more likely to want to continue Jewish traditions and to marry within the religion—since they’ll get a chance to meet a bunch of other Jews their age. According to the organization, Birthright participants are 54 percent more likely to say it’s very important to marry someone Jewish than Jews who have not attended Birthright. Birthright was a direct response to high rates of American Jews marrying non-Jews. “The vision is to ensure the continued existence of the Jewish people because of the very high rate of assimilation,” a spokesman for the organization said in 2006. Birthright trips are usually organized by separate Jewish and/or Israeli groups like Hillel and Amazing Israel, though they are all funded by Birthright Israel. Birthright trips are known for their packed 10-day itinerary that includes visits to landmarks like Jerusalem’s Western Wall, “a Zionist heritage site,” and the Dead Sea. Each day involves around 15 hours of programming—often outdoor activities like hiking, climbing, swimming, and riding camels. A medic and an armed escort who has served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accompany each tour group as they sightsee, party, and so on. Birthright is big on its “educational core ,” which involves visiting institutions and businesses devoted to Israeli statehood, arts, and more. “Every trip includes a multi-day Mifgash (encounter) with your Israeli peers,” reads the Birthright website. These peers are almost always young IDF soldiers. Despite Birthright’s goal of strengthening Jewish identity among its travelers, the trip is not known for being deeply religious. Participants celebrate Shabbat together, but the amount of time that specific Birthright trips devote to religious practices and/or education differs depending on the group that organizes each individual trip. (While different groups can organize Birthright trips, they are all funded by Birthright Israel and follow the organization’s principle guidelines.) Instead, Birthright is more focused on socialization. The program is known to host EDM-filled “mega events” that one attendee likened to Coachella. These events often work to recruit the audience “to become ambassadors for Israel… to lobby governments and sway public opinion in Israel’s favor,” as one Birthright donor asked of t