Taglit Birthright Israel program

My son just got back from a trip to Israel sponsored by the Taglit Birthright Israel program. Even in this time of diminished charitable contributions, the Birthright program attracts philanthropic funds because of its effectiveness in enhancing Jewish identity and support for Israel. In my son's case, I would say that the trip indeed accomplished the program's goals. He got to see religious and cultural sites like Yad Vashem, the Old City of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Tsvat, Kibbutzim, and Masada, as well as other places of interest including the Golan Heights, Sea of Gallilee, and the Dead Sea. A few Israeli contemporaries traveled with the group, giving the opportunity for friendships to develop. I think my son came away with a greater sense of being part of the Jewish People, a knowledge of Israelis as people, friends, and brothers, and a view of Israel in the context of history and present day world politics and power struggles. So, I salute the Taglit Birthright Israel program and thank those contributing funds to keep the program vibrant and available to most of those who want to participate.

More Evidence of Self-defeating Attitude Among Religious Jews

An article in The Jewish Advocate newspaper of July 3, 2009 states that Jewish religious schools prefer to exclude students who don't have a Jewish mother, while some allow such students as long as they convert ASAP. What hogwash! One can readily see why Jews are so low in number in the U.S. and represent a rapidly shrinking proportion of the country's population. What is the purpose of this exclusionary attitude? Don't the schools' leaders recognize that any student and his/her family willing to bear the burden of tuition as well as the extra daily school hours needed for Jewish studies is quite motivated to be Jewish. Isn't that enough? The religionists seem to feel that someone is a Jew if his mother was Jewish, even if he knows absolutely nothing about Jewish teachings. But they feel that someone with only a Jewish father is not Jewish even if he/she bears the burden of daily Jewish study. This attitude is maddening!! Judaism would be much stronger and more dynamic if Jewish schools and congregations welcomed those who want to be Jews rather than setting up roadblocks for them.