Birthright

We began class on the first day by watching a video from Birthright promoting the trip. We recognized Birthright was trying to show the aspects of Israel that would appeal to college aged students, the tourist aspects, the fun in going out with friends, the new friendships made. At that time, before we explored the different aspects of Jewish Identity, I would venture to guess most of the class associated Israel with being Jewish.

A very different answer would come now with that question of "does Israel= Jewish?" According to Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, it seems that these trips to Israel would try and associate the two together. I find her eight themes of the Israel Experience interesting, as I conducted ethnographic research last semester of how a trip to Israel through Birthright or studying abroad affects one's Jewishness. I conducted four interviews, two students went on Birthright, while the other two spent a year studying abroad at Hebrew University after their Birthright trip. I can see similarities in my research and the eight themes Kirshenblatt-Gimblett presents. All of my informants mentioned something on the lines of the Right of passage, where they felt a personal transformation in their experience. Additioanlly, I recognize they during Birthright they had the Israel and Tourist experience, while the two who studied abroad felt the Realities. More specifically, i beleive that those who studied abroad saw it as a form of aliyah.