JEWISH SENTINEL

JEWISH SENTINEL • JUNE 18 - 24, 2021 23 By DEBORAH FINEBLUM T hey’re baaaaack! If you’re in Israel this month, you can’t miss the clusters of them downing falafel on Jerusalem’s Ben-Yehuda Street, cooling off in the Dead Sea, climb- ing Masada at sunrise or slipping prayers between the stones of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. After more than a year of pan- demic silence, the Birthrighters have returned with all the gusto of young adults who’d waited out the year of coronavirus restrictions with visions of Israel dancing in their heads. Take ConorMullaney, who applied for a Birthright Israel trip months ago with little hope of going then. “I’d been looking forward to be- ing in Israel for a very long time,” says Mullaney, a third-year finance student at the University of Mary- land’s Global Campus, who arrived on May 24 with the very first Birth- right Israel group to set foot on Is- raeli soil since the pandemic shut the program down more than a year ago. “Even though I’ve read a lot on Israeli politics and history, nev- er having been here until now, I didn’t fully understand how it all fits together,” he says. “Being here has changed my life and the way I see the world.” It also included holding the bar mitzvah he’d nev- er had at the Western Wall with his new friends cheering him on. Or take his fellow Birthright traveler Sami Marshak, an aspiring attorney who after the Birthright experience is starting a summer internship with a Tel Aviv interna- tional law firm. While the Rutgers University junior had been to Isra- el years ago with family, she notes that “it’s extremely cool being here with friends.” And then there’s Jack Berkey, who was busy exploring the country with pals from his school, the Uni- versity of Michigan. It worked out perfectly to have this opportunity to see Israel for the first time between college graduation and beginning his new job, Berkey reports. “I came with zero expectations of what I will experience,” he said. Indeed, professor and Ameri- can social psychologist Len Saxe, who directs the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University and has been following how college students have dealt with pandemic isolation this past “I’ve always wanted to come but with COVID, it wasn‘t happening last year. So when I heard I could come on Birthright this spring, I thought, ‘This is my chance; I’m not going to miss out on it.’” These three young adults were indeed fortunate to secure a spot; some 6,000 applicants are now qualified and looking forward to going, reports Birthright’s vice president of Global Marketing Noa Bauer. Most of these are expected to be able to enjoy Birthright this summer, with another 20,000 wait- ing in the wings for winter, spring and beyond. When they go, they’ll join the whopping 750,000 young adults ages 18 to 32 from 68 countries who in the last 21 years have ex- perienced the unforgettable sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Israel through a free Birthright trip. In fact, the newly released Pew Research Center study of Ameri- can Jews found that while just un- der half of Jewish adults (45 per- cent) have been to Israel, among those ages 25 to 34, more than a quarter report having traveled on a Birthright trip. Bauer’s stats say more than a third of the young Jewish adults have been on a Birthright trip, “which makes it a potent force for influencing how an entire genera- tion feels about both Israel and their Jewish identity. And now, after more than a year of isolation, they’re so happy to be free to come and explore at a time when Israel is back to life and more exciting than ever.” year, says the time is ripe for them to go. “For this generation coming off the loneliness and emotional challenges of COVID, the hunger to engage with peers makes this a propitious moment to go to Israel and an important moment in our history for young Jews to establish personal relationships with their peers, including the young Israelis they get to know on the trip.” That’s because only face-to- face contact works for establish- ing bonds, he maintains. “On- line works only if you’ve already formed the relationship in person, and grow and deepen it on the phone and online.” For Scott and Amy Jaffee of Brookville, N.Y., involvement in Birthright began five years ago when their oldest son returned from his trip. “We saw how ener- gized and inspired he was when he got back, including the rapport he had with his Israeli peers and the beginning of understanding what a young Israeli’s life is like.” And, adds Amy, who now serves as co-chair of Birthright Israel Foun- dation’s Long Island Leadership Cabinet, “we began thinking about all the Jewish kids who need to go Back And Better Than Ever! Birthright returns to Israel at a critical time REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK “The hunger to engage with peers makes this a propitious moment to go to Israel.” Birthright Israel group in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, June 2021. continued on page 27 Under the Strict Supervision of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens It's BBQ Time! 501 Middle Neck Rd., Great Neck, NY 11023 Tel: 516.504.MEAT (6328) • Fax: 516.504.6329 Sunday 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM; Mon 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM Tuesday 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM; Wednesday 7:00 AM- 7:00 PM Thursday 6:30 AM - 8:00 PM; Friday 6:00 AM - 4:00 PM; Saturday Closed View our menu at: www.middleneckglatt.com We Deliver Thoughout The Area! Middle Neck Glatt is dedicated to deliver the finest glatt kosher foods. Under the strict supervision of Vaad Harabonim of Queens. We specialize in serving the highest quality of kosher fine foods, meats, poultry, fresh fish and a wide range of deli products. We have organic, hormone free, preservative free meats and free range poultry. 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