Got a text yesterday saying there was an exclusive trip for Israel and a guided tour Poland for may 12-23. Was told I needed to respond by today. I have tried to repeatedly contact this guy through calls and text to tell to no response to tell him I accept. I already talked to my work to get time off now he’s gone ghost. Any help?

Hi everyone,

I’m in my early 30s, have young kids, and want to volunteer in Israel. I have a few random questions:

1. is everyone going young/single or will I be able to “fit in” fine with folks as someone who is in a different life stage?
2. can someone share what most people do with their free time outside of the volunteering hours? I read there is a lot of free time everyday. Is everyone hanging out together or people are doing their own thing?
3. for those that went, how did you calm your anxiety around safety?

Any other insights that you would like to share are so sincerely appreciated.

Thanks

Does anyone know what the Birthright Onward jInternship Meal Plan consists of and how meals are served? What types of food are commonly served?

Is the food good quality? I love to cook and can make a variety of dishes and cuisines so I’m trying to decide if I would be satisfied with the meals provided.

Can you take meal plan food out of the dining area back to your room?

For the meal plans lunch, do they offer those meals in takeaway packages since during the daytime I’ll be at my internship?

If anyone here is doing Onward this summer, have you guys had any luck so far in securing internships? It’s about a month away from and I’m starting to stress a little about it lol

Hi everyone, I was raised in a Catholic family but I am an atheist. I recently got my Portuguese passport because my ancestors were Sephardi Jews kicked out of Iberia or murdered during the Inquisition. Since half or more of my ancestors are Jewish if you go back far enough, I have begun to understand the importance of Israel and what it represents in terms of a Jewish haven because if Israel were around in the 1500s I would probably be Jewish today. I would like to go on birthright and was wondering if that is possible? My general vibe from the Internet is no, but I wanted to ask my reddit experts.

Anticipating a question: I'm not interested in converting to Judaism because I am an atheist, and I primarily care about the heritage.

I'm going in August and I'm assuming that for the day or two that we'll be in Tel Aviv, most people will want to spend the nights partying and going to bars. Will I have a decent time if I'm not too big on drinking and just want to enjoy and party a bit without getting drunk?

Do people know anything about the BrightCode program and if it will be on offer again? I know they were taking applicants last year but can't find any current information it. Are there any participants who can comment on the program and their experience too?

I am supposed to be going on my birthright trip this June (June 17-June 28) but I am having anxiety about going after everything since October. I’m specifically struggling with reading the SA that happened to women on 10/07 and honestly all the brutality that’s going on. It’s making me anxious about going, especially as I see things getting worse.

My trip is through Taglit Birthright Israel (Yael adventures), they’ve mentioned they may be making minor modifications to the trip routes but that everything is safe. My rabbi also mentioned it would be fine, he always says “Israel is the safest place a Jew can be”. Maybe because I’m feeling anything but safe right now that I almost want to cancel.

Does anyone have their birthright trip this year/still plan on going? Has anyone here cancelled their trip? How easy was it to get your deposit back before the 50 days?

I think I have until the 28th to cancel.

Is there a way to work for birthright after my trip is over? Will they pay me/room and board, etc .. ?

How much cash should I bring? I read somewhere $500usd but that seems like a lot. Don't most places take credit?

So if we decide to cancel with our trip, all we do is just send an email to our trip organizer?

My Birthright Onward jInternship is June-August in Jerusalem. With everything going on I’m becoming more uncertain about attending my jInternship.

Unlike 10 day Birthright trips, we don’t have IDF soldiers with us at all times. This internship would involve living in Jerusalem for 2 months.

Has anyone completed their jInternship during extra turbulent times? What did they do to ensure participants safety?

I don’t want to lose all the money I’ve already put down but my safety comes above everything else so I’ve been debating what to do.

I am supposed to be going to Israel on May 6th, 3 weeks from now. But… Iran just launched the attack last night and as of now birthright hasn’t cancelled trips. I know most missiles were intercepted, but with October 7th and now this, I do not really think it’s a good idea to go now. Thoughts?

Hey — so I’m going with Yael in the upcoming months. Can anyone share with me their experience with Yael Adventures?

I’m scheduled to go on a trip June 16th. I was planning on attending the information session on zoom today but got the time zones mixed up and missed it. Is there a link where I can watch the replay? If not, can someone please summarize what was said and any important details I might need to know? Thank you.

With everything going on (such as the bombing today), will you lose your deposit of 350 if you cancel less than 50 days out? My partners parents are very hesitant about letting him go and everything has been extremely unpredictable. I’m starting to get nervous as well, I know there’s been no accidents, but I just don’t see an end to all of this at this point and fear the worst is to come.

What is the status for upcoming May/June 2024 trips now that the US has issues travel restrictions for US Gov't staff and is encouraging US Citizens to do the same?

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https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/israel-west-bank-and-gaza-travel-advisory.html

Thanks!

To volunteer we need to fill out a medical form and get it signed by our doctor. I do not regularly see a doctor other than my annual obgyn appointment where I always go to a random doctor depending on their schedule. How do most people go about getting this form signed?

Also I am worried about the form that anyone who has seen a therapist needs to fill out. I struggled with depression in college but am 100% fine and still take anti depressants. Do they reject anyone based off taking anti depressants?

Hi

I really want to go on a Birthright trip and my country (AU) offers it

I've already been to Israel once on a school trip as I go to a non-religious but predominantly Jewish school that offers youth trips to Israel

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I'm not Jewish by Orthodox standards (my father is Jewish but my mother isn't)
I know I can still go because my father is Jewish but it requires a lot of identification naturally and as my father does not communicate with his mother (my grandmother) and his father (my grandfather) has passed away, he cannot access anything.

I've grown up in a very Jewish community my entire life and I've always considered myself an honorary Jew lol, I think most people who aren't close with me just take me as Jewish because of my last name and where I live. I go to shul at least once a month and as I said I go to a school that is 80% Jewish at least

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Is there any way I can go without getting that identification stuff? Most of my friends have applied
Is there other ways?

Ok so there’s two questions in this post so please bare with me!!

1. i so I was going through the birthright trip stuff and it hit me that we are going to do shabbat together. Ok, i’ve done shabbat for years ofc but i’m worried because 1. my hebrew is horrific. like straight up horrible. literally getting laughed at by my israeli friend😭 2. we are reform and i’m worried that maybe my families shabbat is like not the full shabbat? i can’t explain it but my worry is looking like i’m an imposter and faking being jewish because for example, during our shabbat, the girls cover our hair and i heard usually you don’t do that. i don’t knowww, i’m just worried that i’ll look like an imposter or i’m faking being jewish and the idea of the group thinking of me like that really scares me and worries me. should i be stressed or am i overthinking?
2. i have severe ocd and most of it is towards physical interactions with men and i like to keep a super conservative attitude when it comes to opposite gender convos, so how do i tell the group that i will be limiting my interactions (including not sitting next to them or etc) with the men and that im not trying to be a b-word? im worried someone will have a problem with me and think im being rude but i genuinely have a difficult time (because of past things). how can i deal with this? should i talk to the group or staff or ??

any advice is appreciated!!! and also sorry if this post was all over the place, english isn’t my first language but i tried!

Hi, y'all!

I (19f) am a college freshman. My mom's side of the family is Jewish, while my dad's is kinda Christian and kinda non-religious (most of them have the "god is real, that's about all I know/care to think about" mindset). Growing up in a split-religion household, I've struggled a lot with certain areas of faith. Especially because, while my mom and I would celebrate Hanukkah and discuss culture, I never felt fully immersed or educated on Judaism and being a Jewish woman. We don't talk to a great deal of my mom's side (coincidentally, we specifically don't speak to the jewish ones, this is because of issues with my mom's dad when she was young), the closest synagogue is easily almost an hour away from my home, so we never went to any services, etc.

I lack a lot of knowledge, and that makes me sad and feel almost like an imposter. I do research and keep up on current events, especially since sophomore year of high school when I began to truly love my Jewish identity, even if I may not be super religious. But even still, I struggle. I have no Jewish peers, as I am from a very small town in Ohio, and everyone there is some form of Christian/Catholic.

Would it be wrong of me to go on Birthright? I want to learn more about the culture of my people, and while I try my best to do so, I feel like going to Israel with other Jewish people around my age could make me feel much more connected.

Hey! I’m going on birthright with Yael Adventures in the next couple of months. How much money should I realistically get exchanged into Shekel & anticipate to bring/spend?

Thanks yall.

So I’m going to extend my trip and go to Israel for 2.5-3 months. If I pack more than 1 suitcase will that be annoying and a hassle or will I be alright l?

Also bc I’m gonna be there for 3 months I want to bring my laptop but if we’re going to be going to hostels what should I do?

Does anyone know if the apartment we are assigned comes with wifi. Or are we responsible for that?

Hello All,

I applied for a volunteer trip to Israel this summer that required me to fill out the Birthright application. However, when I went through the application I wasn't able to move forward because it says to read the email they sent me. However, the email just lists the requirements for birthright and doesn't explicitly say I don't meet any of them. I've attached both screenshots just to make it more clear.

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Now, I am in the process of converting to Orthodox Judaism through a beit din that is recognized by the chief Rabbinate of Israel so it shouldn't be a problem. My question is:

1. Has anybody gotten the same response? If so, how did you resolve this or what was the reason given to you?
2. What should I do to resolve this?

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Actual Email

Website

Im coming from a different state that I’ll be flying in and out from to Israel for my birthright trip in May/June, I was wondering when flying home after coming back from Israel, how short can my layover be for my flight back home?? I don’t want to get a flight that’s cutting it too close to when we get back from Israel but I’m not sure how it is.

Also wasn’t sure if it should be the same rule of thumb as when they want us to meet them there 5 hours early on departure to Israel.

I already have my flight info for Israel just need my personal flights now!

Hello, I’m considering volunteering with onward this May. Just checking, if I come to Israel, participate in the program, travel to another country and back to Israel, and then back to my home country, will my flight home still be subsidized? I’m fairly sure the answer is yes but not totally sure since onward is different than taglit. Thanks everyone :)

hi i finally got an offer! i'm so excited but my older sister got another email while i didn't.. after she accepted the offer she got an email saying that they got her acceptance for the trip offer while i didn't get an email after accepting the trip.. what should i do? should i just wait? or should i contact birthright? this is for free spirit yachad special needs btw.. ty

EDIT: i got a different email than my sister that i've been assigned to a group which probably means they got my acceptance yay! i'm so excited.. idk why i didn't get that email though and my older sister did though ty

I’m filling out the application for an upcoming trip and I’m almost done and it won’t let me move forward on the application.

The only field missing is my profile pic, which I set up in the app on my phone.

I’ve tried to put the profile picture in the field on the website but it won’t go through. Is this a common problem? How do I resolve it?