Israel Matzav

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Slate: 'Birthright killed Max Steinberg'

These people just live on a different planet.

What else happens on those 10-day trips? There is a lot of hooking up and plenty of, as Feldman writes, “reinforcing the Zionist claim to the land” (Feldman’s tour guide identified everything they saw out of the bus window as “in the Bible,” and her group was given maps that identified the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria”). And, “at some point during their all-expenses-paid ten-day trip to a land where, as they are constantly reminded, every mountain and valley is inscribed with 5,000 years of their people’s history,” there is “the moment”— the moment when participants realize just how important Israel is to them, to their fundamental identity, and how important they are to Israel.

According to Steinberg’s parents, that is exactly what happened to Max. His mother told the Washington Post that, initially, he didn’t want to go on the Birthright trip, but once he did, it changed him. It was on his group’s visit to Israel’s national cemetery at Mount Herzl that Steinberg saw the grave of an American “lone soldier” who died fighting for Israel and “decided that Israel was where he wanted to be.” He joined the IDF, his father said, because he saw it as an obligation were he to stay in Israel.

Birthright says that aliyah—the immigration of diaspora Jews to Israel—is not one of its goals, but like Steinberg, many participants come away with the feeling that Israel is where they belong. Birthright estimates that 20,000–30,000 of its participants have acted on that feeling by moving to Israel. I have known many young American Jews who have made the same decision—who at 18 decided that they belonged in Israel and, though they’d never considered joining the American military, moved across the ocean to join the IDF right after high school. People say Birthright is “just like camp,” and it sure sounds like a very condensed version of the Jewish camp I attended as a kid, whose purpose was, at the very least, to foster a connection to Israel in young Jews—and at best, to get us to move to the country and fight for it. My camp, filled with the children of liberal American Jews, did this by presenting a very simplistic picture of the political situation in Israel and the threat to Jews worldwide, all within the context of helping to fix the world while having the time of your life. Birthright does a form of the same.

On Tuesday, Birthright issued a statement from its CEO, Gidi Mark. “We are deeply saddened to inform you of the tragic loss of one our Taglit Birthright Israel alumni Max Steinberg,” Mark wrote. “His life—a life filled with promise cut short far too soon—will live in our hearts forever as a reminder of the sacrifices he and so many before him have made to keep Israel safe.”

What makes an American kid with shaky Hebrew and no ties to the state of Israel suddenly decide he is ready to make this sacrifice? Maybe Max was especially lost, or especially susceptible, or maybe he was just looking to do some good and became convinced by his Birthright experience that putting on an IDF uniform and grabbing a gun was the way to do it. That serving and protecting the Jewish people was the moral thing to do, and that the best way to accomplish it was to go fight for the Jewish state. It turns out that it’s not that hard to persuade young people to see the world a certain way and that Birthright is very good at doing it. You spend hundreds of millions of dollars to convince young Jews that they are deeply connected to a country that desperately needs their support? This is what you get.

Maybe this explains why 78% of American Jewry voted for Barack Obama - his non-support of Israel notwithstanding. Because to them, being Jewish isn't about joining their lives and fate to that of the Jewish people, including by supporting Israel. It's about liberalism and liberal values and not seeing the basic goodness and morality embodied in the Jewish state. Max Steinber saw it and that's why he came here. His death is a tragedy, but it should not be used as a club with which to destroy Birthright. He was not brainwashed. He chose to realize his identity with the Jewish people.

By the way, 30,000 people attended Max Steinberg's funeral in Jerusalem last night. Even John Kerry was moved (check out the link). And another 6,000 attended the funeral of French lone soldier Jordan Simon in Ashkelon, where the biggest concern was that too many people would show up and there would ba rocket attack during the funeral.

Labels: Birthright Israel alumni, Gaza, Hamas, IDF, Judaism, liberalism, Operation Protective Edge

Monday, July 09, 2012

'Birthright bump' in attachment to Israel

Here's evidence that Birthright is having a positive effect on young American Jews' attachment to Israel.

Youngest Adults Show Evidence of a Birthright Bump in Attachment to Israel Along with Decreased Relative Trust in Israel

Attached to Israel Index:

1) Considers self pro-Israel to a great extent

2) Feels very emotionally attached to Israel

A positive answer to each question is worth 50 points on the Index

What will Peter Beinart say? Read the whole thing.

Labels: American Jews, Birthright Israel alumni

Sunday, July 17, 2011

The laws of supply and demand

Stephen Richer explains why the Far Left cannot have their own Birthright trip. It's all about supply and demand.

Supply

The current Birthright trip is funded by the State of Israel, individual donors (such as the ones listed above), and Jewish communities in the United States. A Feldman-friendly trip probably couldn't marshal similar support. Start with the State of Israel. The State of Israel contributes to Birthright because Birthright yields future dividends for the Jewish state – economically, demographically, and geo-politically. A Feldman-friendly trip would not produce similar returns. At best, people of Feldman's ilk ("Feldmanites" – people who think Israel is an illiberal, racist occupier), want to reduce U.S. military aid to Israel; they want to shrink Israel to its pre-1967 size; they question the terrorist status of Hamas; etc. Israel generally doesn't see these views as salubrious – Israel even has questions about a group like J Street whose official policies are kinder to Israel than Feldmanites – and, accordingly, the State of Israel will not go out of its way to help setup such a trip.

Regarding private donors: Why haven't people like George Soros and Alan Solomnt gone out of their way to finance a trip to rival the current Birthright? It certainly isn't because of the cost – the $600 million that Birthright has spent since 1999 is only about 4.5 percent of Soros's estimated $14.5 billion net worth. Rather, Soros, Solomnt, etc., are probably less inclined to send young Jews to a country they view as morally mediocre and a bit of a nuisance than are people like Schustermann and Adelson who love Israel and hold it as a top priority. Another likely reason that Feldmanites are hesitant to host a competing trip is that they might not be able to pitch the right message. Yes, the trip could undoubtedly roundup a number of Jewish Israelis, Arab Israelis, and Palestinians to decry Israel's "war crimes," "racism," and "illiberal practices" – or whatever the usual tropes are – but what about when the participants wander off? What if they stay longer in Israel? The truth is that Israel is a thriving and free society that strongly resembles facets of the United States. Additionally, the majority of Israelis feel that the country is right to take strong measures to defend itself – that's why the Likud party is currently in power. And the average voting Israeli is not a foaming-at-the-mouth war hawk, but a fellow Jew in a liberal country – a difficult person to casually dismiss.

Demand

The demand side of the equation would undoubtedly be less problematic. After all, a free trip is a free trip. But if forced to choose between the current Birthright trip and a Feldman-trip, the majority of young American Jews are still going to choose the former. Although Feldman will perhaps claim a bias in major American polling organizations as well, the majority of reputable polls have suggested that sentiment runs along the lines of this poll commissioned by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting (CAMERA):

· 78 percent of American Jews regard it as being "very to 100 percent necessary" for Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

· 77 percent of American Jews believe that Palestinian incitement against Israel – its "culture of hatred" – is a major obstacle to peace.

· 85 percent of American Jews said that Israel is "right to take threats to existence seriously," and that Israel's concerns are not irrational or overstated.

Probably not the results one would expect from half a room of Feldmanites.

Read the whole thing. These spoiled brats like Kiera Feldman (the person to whom Richer is responding) want everything, don't they? If you don't want to hear our narrative, don't come. We're paying to have you here.

Labels: Birthright, Birthright Israel alumni, Leftist Jews