The joy of the participants who first experience Israel - a play that reflects the eternal spirit of the Jewish people • Graduates are more committed to their identity • Opinion

• Birthright young people in Tel Aviv

  Photo: 

  Joshua Joseph

There are plays that at a glance reflect the eternal spirit of the people of Israel: a grandfather who holds his newborn grandson and serves as a godfather, at the circumcision ceremony ... Kibbutz founded by Holocaust survivors, yields milk and honey ...

Another such play, for Sheldon and for me, is the wonder and delight in the faces of birthright participants when they experience Israel for the first time. We have witnessed it dozens, and maybe hundreds, times. May there be thousands more. We will never tire of this play. It is the appearance of young Jews from the Diaspora who discover their ancient homeland and connect to it - from Jerusalem's holy sites to the Jaffa market, from the summit of Mount Carmel to Masada ... connecting with and discovering their Israeli brothers and sisters. For a glorious future.

Sheldon and I joined in favor of Birthright in 2007, when the founders of the program, Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt, introduced it to us and fascinated us with their vision. We heard that the waiting list was huge, and it pained us for all the souls who could not fulfill their dream of visiting the ancestral land. We volunteered immediately to fund the arrival of all pending, and the list even grew ... and grew ...

And we still knew we would be much more correct - and that's what we've been doing over the years. It's a simple formula for saving the Jewish people, and that's what Sheldon and I wanted to do. The return was supreme: the kind of philanthropy that not only benefits the individual, but also redirects the path of entire nations to the welfare of the entire world. 

Birthright graduates are more committed to their Jewish identity, with a willingness to support Israel from abroad. Those who signed up but were not eligible to participate in the program. 

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Each year Sheldon and I lecture to graduates of Birthright at the Independence Hall in Tel Aviv. On one occasion, a girl named Stacey challenged me about the meaning of her trip in the "all-inclusive" package to Israel. "There is no such thing as free meals," she said gracefully, "What do you expect from me in return?" Israel wherever you go. Not everyone gets to serve in the IDF, but you can be 'soldiers' to protect Israel's image and actions vis-à-vis the world, and pass on all the beauty and grace it has. "

20 years after it was founded, Birthright proved its worth. In English, the program is called "Birthright" - a birthright - and it can be said that those hundreds of thousands who participated in the program are "reborn" in Israel. They return to every end of the world with a renewed belief in Judaism and the unique place of the Jewish state in the world. Taking into account the same family, friends, acquaintances and elected officials that every graduate influences, this is a huge wave of support for the state. 

So: forward birth! Let's reach a milestone of one million participants! We look forward to accompanying you there.

Proper Disclosure: Dr. Miriam Adelson is the publisher of "Israel Today". The Adelson family owns the company that holds "Israel Today" shares.