Instead of rappelling or skydiving, the thrill of sudden drops from tall buildings.
New York, May 14 - An organization that has brought a generation of North American Jewish youth on weeklong visits to Israel to connect with their people's history and heritage announced an expansion initiative today, to include those who disavow their connection with Israel and instead wish to show solidarity with Palestinians: a trip to the coastal Mediterranean territory under the administration of Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that has vowed to repeat the slaughter of October 7, 2023.
Birthright International issued a press release today to herald its new Gaza Solidarity Project, to appeal to Jews who reject Jewish sovereignty in the ancestral Jewish homeland and who sympathize with those whose violent opposition to Jewish sovereignty has immiserated them for generations.
"We are pleased to announce a program that will expand our offerings to those who recoil from the 'Zionism' of the original Birthright initiative," the press release read. "Already, numerous local entities have volunteered to 'take care of' these visitors. It is an exciting time to be a young American Jew."
A Birthright board member who spoke on condition of anonymity disclosed that the GSP program will cost the organization less than its sister program that takes youths to Israel who have never done so themselves as part of an organized group. "It's not just the lower costs in general in the Gaza Strip," she explained. "That is of course a notable consideration, but ultimately, we only have to pay for one way. The participants are not expected to return."
Birthright itself does not conduct the tours of Israel; it functions as a grantmaking organization to programs that offer participants different types of Israel experience: some emphasize the religious connection and history; others appeal to backpackers and hikers; still other offer a variety of venues and outings attuned to the expressed predilections of the applicants. In Gaza, Birthright will follow a similar model, with modifications to adapt the program to the geographical, logistical, and political milieu.
For example, no local contractor has offered to take the participants to the ancient synagogue in Gaza with a mosaic depiction of King David. Instead, the board member indicated, the Gaza subcontractors have described events that will give the Jewish visitors analogous experiences to those they could have had in Israel: instead of rappelling or skydiving, the thrill of sudden drops from tall buildings; instead of waterskiing, the on-land experience of being pulled by the feet by a motorcycle through the streets of Gaza.
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