After conducting our closing session yesterday evening, one defining point kept coming back to me. Repeatedly, the friends I've made on this trip discussed their newfound loyalty to and passion for Israel. They discussed how moved they felt when Israelis welcomed them "home", of course referring to Israel not as a land just for Israelis but instead for all Jewish people.
In making these comments, my friends proved the effectiveness of the intended Birthright experience. In coordination with the incredible generosity of certain Jewish philanthropic efforts, the Israeli government provides supplemental funding to enable as many Jews as possible to experience a visit to Israel. In return, it hopes these Jewish young adults increase their awareness of relevant issues and become more willing to educate friends and family who may not have access to the same information. My friends' comments are the best evidence I've seen for the program's effectiveness.
Throughout the trip, I repeatedly heard accusations of a strong media bias against Israel. Anti-Israel news sells, people said, and the liberal media thrives on printing/broadcasting news portraying Israel in a bad light. But because of its limited public relations budget, these same people claimed, Israel is unable to adequately defend itself to the international community.
This combination presents an unsolvable problem. How does Israel enable people to see the entire, unbiased picture without having the financial resources to counteract the influential and widely seen reporting of heavyweights including the New York Times and CNN? According to the Israeli government, the answer lies in Birthright.
If it can bring intelligent but relatively uninformed Jewish young adults to Israel and allow them to experience and observe first hand the culture, economy, and issues facing Israel, the Israeli government feels as if its effectiveness at generating positive publicity will increase dramatically. These Jews will receive an unbiased portrayal of the issues and will return home more passionate about them and more able to discuss media errors/inconsistencies with those interested. I believe Birthright itself and the speakers with whom we met were careful to draw the line between fact and personal opinion. They sought to enable us to make our own decisions using the facts provided rather than to try and influence us directly by providing a personal opinion. In turn, my friends' newfound beliefs were formed on their own rather than through others' propaganda.
I truly hope that my friends' comments were genuine and that they follow through with their commitments to aid Israel. As we heard repeatedly, the fate of Israel ultimately lies with its people--not just its citizens but all Jews. The Israelis join the army and must physically defend themselves from enemy threats. However, they cannot do it alone. Birthright has taken the fundamental step of introducing us to Israel and its issues, but it is ultimately up to us to take the next step to further ensure Israel's continued safety and success.
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