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Posted on 07/11/2005 12:43:06 PM PDT by Alouette
Taglit Birthright Israel was looking into the legality of the chosen name "Birthright Unplugged" of a newly established tour program that showcases the Palestinian narrative in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to young Jews.
The new program opened this month with six-day tours of the Palestinian territories to instill "an understanding of daily life under occupation," according to the program's founders.
Taglit, a program that has brought more than 88,000 Jewish youth on tours of Israel over the past five years, said that it was looking into the legal use of the name "birthright."
"This organization is taking advantage and using the good brand name that Taglit Birthright has built for itself," said Gidi Marc, international director of marketing. "We don't want people confusing this program with birthright or thinking they are associated in any way."
Marc also criticized Birthright Unplugged's purported agenda. "I don't think it is the place for Jews to fund a program which explores the Palestinian narrative," he said.
While Taglit Birthright touches on the issues around the Palestinian Israeli conflict, Marc said, the program's prime objective was to inspire in its participants a connection to Judaism and the State of Israel.
Hannah, an American Jew and one of the founders of Birthright Unplugged, insisted that the trips provide an important experience of the Palestinian side, which is often overlooked in typical tours of Israel.
"We felt that there are so many programs targeting the young Jewish community in Israel that showed only the Israeli side," said Hannah, who refused to give her last name. "We assume that the participants on our program have heard the Israeli narrative and we provide them with an opportunity to see what is going on in Palestinian communities."
Hannah plans and leads the tour with Dunya, an Iraqi American of Muslim and Jewish descent. The two have worked together on the International Women's Peace Service since June 2003.
The tour has a tentative itinerary that includes Bethlehem, Hebron, Beit Sahur, Beit Jala and Dehaishe. Participants use public transportation throughout the trip, and often stay overnight with local families. The trip's $350 pricetag completely covers expenses.
"A few years ago it became apparent to me that a lot of the information that had been given to me was not a complete picture of the region," said Michelle, a participant on the organization's first tour last week, who also refused to give her last name, saying that in the past friends of hers who identified themselves with Palestinian activism had trouble reentering Israel. "I've been seeking to complete that picture, which is what this tour was about."
Michelle added that the tour's focus was strictly on the Palestinian narrative, and therefore should be attended by people who had already been exposed to the Israeli point of view.
"I think that if a person went on this trip without previous knowledge of this situation, they would be lacking the Israeli narrative," she said. "But given that the trip is organized for individuals that have a background in the Israeli narrative, it provides a complementary set of information to preexisting values."
While some have criticized the trip for promoting anti-Jewish values, Michelle disagreed, saying that it has enhanced her respect for Judaism and reminded her of her core values of "social justice."
For Mark Lehr, a participant on last month's birthright trip, a little more time on the Palestinian narrative would have been well spent.
"I think for a lot of people on birthright, there is this feeling that we are in a bubble," he said. "We aren't even really exposed to the full spectrum of Israeli culture, what we see is carefully controlled. I would have benefited from seeing more of what the conflict is about, though."
After looking at the birthrightunplugged.org Web site, Lehr said that although it seemed interesting, he felt like it might have the opposite problem of focusing too much on the Palestinian side.
"It just seems like this whole program is nothing but the Palestinian narrative," he said. "It's too bad, because it's the same problem as the Israel birthright trip."
He added that the Palestinian narrative was much more prominent on his University of California campus, and that young people, especially college students, were often more exposed to it than the Jewish point of view.
"What really needs to happen here is have these two programs meet up and meld," he said. "Give birth to a whole new birthright child that is half and half! A coexistence of birthrights."
Yonah EtShalom, Philadelphia, USA How can Israeli Jews expect to have peace with Palestinians if we won't listen to their point of view? I think Birthright Unplugged is a brilliant idea, making more information available to young Jews who are often given plenty of information about reasons to support the Israeli government unconditionally, without questioning the long-term effects on the possibilities for peace and negotiation. Kudos to Hannah and Dunya!
Elissa Froman, Washington DC I have just returned from a semester at Hebrew University and am proud to call myself a Zionist. As a young Jew, I want to have a full education on the issues effecting the state and the people I identify with, and love. Why are so many Jews, as quoted in the article and the comments, so afraid of young Jewish people exposing themselves to an education that gives them wider historical and social perspective? Why are we so scared to let a generation of young Jews decide for themselves. Israel is not perfect, and there is no one truth in the conflict, and better more people see that now then later. This program is not mutually exclusive with Birthright - it sounds like an amazing opportunity for students, who are willing to open their eyes and ears, and not be afraid of what they are going to see.
Jules Mermelstein, Upper Dublin, PA, USA If we Jews really want to follow the ethics of our fathers and the Torah, we cannot ever say "Israel right or wrong." The commandment repeated most often in Torah is to treat strangers with respect for we "were once strangers in Egypt." It seems there are a few militant Palestinians and a few militant Israelis who want violence against each other. The way to bring about peace is to have Jews realize that most Palestinians want peace and have Palestinians realize that most Jews want peace. It has to spring from the grass roots up. This new Birthright Unplugged seems to be opening the awareness of American Jews to Palestinians' true peaceful nature. My hat is off to these two women. Now, are there any Israelis brave enough to start a tour for Palestinians to meet Israelis who want peace?
Jean Abercrombie, Canada In 2003 I lived in the West Bank in a village called Hares. I was working with the International Women's Peace Service. I worked with many Palestinian families on the olive harvest. I fully expected them to be hateful to the Israeli people but I did not find that. They treated me with kindness and respect and although at that time the war with Iraq was in full tilt and people around the world were against the Bush agenda, people did not hate Americans although they were not fond of Bush, as is true in my country of Canada. Although I am 78 years old, I certainly did not get any respect from the many Israeli soldiers I encountered. Our village had a roadblock (a huge pile of dirt and rocks) so the people could not get their cars out onto the roads. They could not go to their jobs as the buses were also stopped so taxis were the only mode of transportation. Often the soldiers told me to shut up and held guns to my head, and searched my purse and pockets. It was a humiliation that Palestinians confront daily. I was privileged I could go home. To have such a situation is humiliating and not a way to have peace in your country.
Mike Azizi, USA: Why would Birthright participants have to assimilate with the Palestinians if birthright is being funded for By Jewish Entrepreneurs that want young adults to learn and be educated about ISRAEL???? What is the point when we don't even have Peace with the Palestinians? Why don't we wait and see what happens first with the whole Peace process before we start introducing our young foreigners to the Palestinians. Let us first have dependable neighbors before we start sending our children over to play. Aren't we funding this for Israel? What is wrong with these women?
Yitzchak: This project really should be called "Self-Hating Birthright." I wonder if the tour is going to expose the participants to the incitement and anti-Israel propaganda in PA schools and on television. I wonder if they will tell the participants about the fate of those suspected of helping Israel track down the terrorists. I wonder if they will mention how Palestinian leaders preach hate and violence.
Michael Levin, Jerusalem, Israel: As a birthright alum, and now a proud Israeli citizen, I must interject and remind you that Birthright is not a seminar on Israeli politics, nor is it a course on the Middle East conflict. The point of Birthright is to give young Jewish adults an opportunity to explore their Judaism and Jewish identity surrounded by Jewish peers who are also experiencing the wonders of Israel for the first time. My birthright trip did not make me right wing or left. It did, however, infuse in me a sense of Jewish identity and belonging to a people that I was a part of, but hardly knew it.
Looks like "Birthright" is becoming more careful in selecting candidates. I'm not going to say the program is not worthwhile -- my son went on a "Birthright" tour and then joined the IDF -- but it is definitely not a "magic pill" to make assimilated young adults into committed Jews.
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Do we get to see the actual bulldozer?
I've often wondered why we never hear about how tough it was being a camp guard - it all inmates, inmates, inmates all the time there.
I hope Hannah and friends provide a more Reich-friendly tour of the empty shtetls.
See the bulldozer? No.
Show them the text books that illustrate the middle east map WITHOUT Israel.
Show them the cartoons Pali children watch where the villains are Jews.
Introduce them to the burn victim who packed her body with explosives when she was given a humanitarian pass so that Jewish doctors could treat her and offer her a chance at a decent life.
Let them speak with the settler whose pregnant wife and children were shot at point blank range.
That's a tour I want all of these fools to take.
Wait - another tour stop should be France to see Arafat's wife and the million a month lifestyle she "earned" for producing a heir for their goat loving leader. And a reminder that their Pali philanthropy ends here...
..................
Is that the image for the Tour t-shirts?
should be
The kid in a brown jacket to her right is looking at her with the expression of "Sheesh. What a twit."
"The kid in a brown jacket to her right is looking at her with the expression of 'Sheesh. What a twit.'"
He's thinking "I wonder how she'll taste with maple syrup and a pat of butter?"
Be sure and pick up Rachel's latest album as she sings in "A Flat Whiner."
"Be sure and pick up Rachel's latest album as she sings in "A Flat Whiner."
With the big hit "I fought the bulldozer and the bulldozer won."
Then he thinks, "I bet I can get her to stand in front of a bulldozer by appealing to her 'guilt'."
LOL. Thanks, will save that one.
I went to Israel when I was 18 to live in a Kibbutz. I learned alot about the Palestinians. I learned that they would have no life if it were not for the jobs Israel creates for them, the technology they share and the medical advances they volunteer. I learned all I needed to know.
I love the part where Rachael pretends not to see the bulldozer coming and sits down in front of it, calling it's bluff. I'll always cherish her fight with the bulldozer and admire her for voluntarily removing her genes from society's pool.
Of course, we'll never know if she did it out of plain stupidity or intentionally. I like to think that, maybe, perhaps, there wasn't as much stupidity involved as there appeaed to be. This tour sure makes it clear that Rachael was her parents' daughter! Thanks, Rachael!!
...hmmm... musta been a flaw in there somewhere...
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