Haifa BayAs soon as I stepped off the plane in Tel Aviv, I was disoriented. The escalators in one part of the airport reminded me of pictures I had seen of the Western Wall. The hand-dryer in the men’s bathroom was made in Iowa. Outside, strung across the grass there was a Nokia ad, proclaiming, “We connect people.” “Welcome home,” was the first words I heard from an Israeli.  read more »

A Birthright Israel trip is a disorienting thing.

Over the next three weeks, the JRF web site will be sharing Joe Getzoff's piece Birthright Journal in ten installments.

Read the first installment.

Joe Getzoff is a 23-old recent grad of Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA) where he majored in English and Religion. In January, 2006 Joe participated in a Birthright Israel trip. He is currently the Receptionist/Administrative Assistant here at the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation.  read more »

Birthright Israel (taglit in Hebrew) was launched in 2000 with impetus and funding from Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinheart. Its main goal is to get young Jews to visit Israel at no cost to the participants. The trips are ten days long. Birthright has sent over 100,000 young Jews to Israel at a cost of more than $250 million to the program. Quite a feat!