Jewish Scene
Birthright has fun day on Tisha B'Av
Ari Galahar
Published: 15.08.11, 09:06
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44 Talkbacks for this article
1. SHAMEFUL!
David ,   Haifa, Israel   (08.15.11)
2. What the?
Ariel ,   Earth   (08.15.11)
How do you connect Jewish teens to their roots by ignoring Jewish holy days? Unfortunately, it seems they'd get more connection to their roots if they spent 10 days in NYC at Yeshiva University than swimming in Israel on a Jewish holy day...
3. Taglit & Tish'A B'Av
Norbus ,   Jerusalem   (08.15.11)
Clearly they are practicing for when the Moshiah gets here
4. respect israeli holy days???
gali israel   (08.15.11)
condradiction in itself! what a joke. 9th of Av is one of the most important fasting days , our temple was destroyed twice on this date along with so many other tragedies! how can you teach young jews to ignore this day to go have "fun"??? shame on them!
5. Birthright is not a right... it's a privilege
Love Your Fellow Jew ,   Jerusalem, Israel   (08.15.11)
Half of the youth coming on Birthright these days are not even Jewish. I'm fed up with our tax money paying for rich American teens to have a free drinking and party fest in Israel. Let their parents pay for it.
6. IGNORAMUSES
DA URBAN POET ,   SAFED ISRAEL   (08.15.11)
Run for and by.
7.  ONE MUST NOT OFFEND THE KIDS
LAWRENCE ,   Zefat (Safed)   (08.15.11)
The youths just want to have fun .
8. So what!?!?
Shula ,   Jerusalem, Israel   (08.15.11)
So what?!?! At least they come to Israel. Most of the Taglit participants are "Jewish by name" only. May all the jews come to visit Israel!! AMEN!!
9. Missing the boat
Bin ,   Jerusalem   (08.15.11)
It's unfortunate that the organizers of Taglit failed to understand the significance of the most terrible day in our history. Perhaps they could benefit from some "keiruv" as well. Then again, even in Israel, many young people have stopped caring about Tisha b'Av, the Kotel and Ma'arat haMachpela... Let's hope the next generation remembers the Holocaust...
10. Is this program run by the reform or secular humanists?
Bunnie Meyer ,   Los Angeles, CA USA   (08.15.11)
11. these people have NO SHAME at all
hadad ,   U.K   (08.15.11)
12. Taglit disgraces Tisha Be-Av
Anna ,   NY, NY   (08.15.11)
Is this what we send our kids to Israel for? I am sure it is not done just out of ignorance. It is an open war on Judaism and the Jews. The nominally Jewish State wants our youth in Israel to fight in the IDF but they want them to abandon their Judaism first.
13. fast of av
jews of israel   (08.15.11)
turning into a fun day? who is the idiot in charge of making this fun day? is he/she even jewish?
14. Who is in charge, you ask?
Anna ,   NY, NY   (08.15.11)
Your "charismatic" Sharansky of course! You invite him for a talk and he'll tell you how he treasured his book of Psalms in his prison cell. And then he will go ahead and dupe your kids to become Israelis without Judaism. Weren't you happe when he was 'elected' chairman of the 'Jewish' Agency?
15. # 1 David BTW
Haim ,   TA   (08.15.11)
you missed a great party held in your honor .
16. # 9
(08.15.11)
Somehow it's difficult to conceive of Tisha B'Av as being "the most terrible day in our history" after the Holocaust took place. Maybe that's why a lot of Jews, including Israelis, don't think it's that big a deal.
17. we're not all religous , and as a secular i don't see any
ami ,   Israel   (08.15.11)
problem here.... sorry.
18. so f**king what??? we have a secular majority in israel
get over it! ,   ISRAEL   (08.15.11)
19. Later tragedies that began on 9 Av
ORA ,   JERUSALEM   (08.15.11)
The first crusado declared by pope Urban in 1095 Jews expelled from England in 1290. Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. World war I broke out in 1914. Mass deportation of Jews, from Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka,in 1942. [references :Wikipedia]
20. don't forget
sb ,   isral   (08.15.11)
To #'s 17, 18 and whoever agrees with them: The only reason we are even Jewish is because we accepted the Torah. If not for that "little" fact YOU would be a goi.....So, yes, a program that "so called" reawakens the jewishness in people who grew up with less knowledge for what ever reason, should recognize and respect the holy Jewish calendar and laws and customs. If not, then what is all this for anyway?? Try being a little truthful with yourselves.
21. Two of my friends kids went on this freebie this past month
Al   (08.15.11)
A complete waste of time and money. They came back telling us it was totally devoid of any real Jewish content. These kids happen to be traditional shomer shabbos kids. They were shown aroung bars beaches and tourist traps. These kids will never return..In their words they summed it up as.... "Bullshit"
22. Taglit has many tour operators, some religious, some secular
Sue ,   Los Angeles   (08.15.11)
The article fails to mention the name of the tour operator who obviously had a group of secular participants. However, the tour guides did these kids a disservice by not having them be a part of this major holiday in Israel. It would have been a great experience for them to have been at the Kotel on Tish'a B'Av. When a young person registers for a Birthright Israel trip, he/she chooses among many tours organized by different companies. Some trips are designed for Orthodox Jews, others for seculars. Some trips are for kids who like hiking and rock climbing, others for those with interests in doing "tikkun olam." The main Birthright Israel organization makes sure the various operators follow their rules and guidelines. The question I have is, did Taglit approve this particular group's itinerary which ignored and disrespected the solemn holiday?
23. Many youth" leaders" sadly lack basics
CluelessYouthLeaders   (08.15.11)
Many Taglit leaders are from extreme secular backgrounds and have been for years , with little knowlege or interest in knowing even basic Jewish tradition and got into these positions through the secular "old boy " network of the Jewish Agency Formerly on one of the "highlights" of a Taglit visit to Jeusalem was a visit to the crime ridden drug den/club called "The Underground" that finaly the city and police closed down. How many of these Jewish kids on the program go home even more confused and ignorant than when they came?
24. Ora , not everything is true
Charles ,   Petrach Tikva   (08.15.11)
The Jews expelled from England on July 18 th . Tisha be'av ? In 1492 the Jews in Spain had 3 months to leave the country , this period ended a day BEFORE tish Be'av , Read also , in media you know : gunner [ sch..... ] in A [ our birth town ] and enjoy .
25. I hope you enjoyed your day !!! always happy to have you:)
Israeli ,   Israel   (08.15.11)
26. #8 #18 I hope you have higher expectations out of yourselves
shadoil ,   jerusalem   (08.15.11)
than you do for the Jewish education of these kids. whew,..... talk about low self esteem!!
27. Put this in perspective: let them have fun
Orthodox Jew ,   USA   (08.15.11)
As an observant Jew it pains me to say this, but let these kids have fun. Please put this event in perspective. Birthright trips are basically triage, a kind of Pikuach Nefesh for the general Jewish community. Most kids on Birthright trips, like most other Jews in America and elsewhere, have had little to no formal Jewish education. If they know anything, they may have a superficial knowledge of Chanukkah and a few other holidays. Tisha B'Av is completely foreign to them. When trying to inspire them to feel positively about being Jewish, why hit them over the head with something as somber as Tisha B'av? Birthright is the only chance that some of these kids will ever have to connect with their Jewish identity. They are probably already going to Yad Vashem. Do you want them to spend their brief 10 days of "vacation" hearing only about suffering and tragedy? It is more important that they learn the basics of Judaism first. Let them experience the joy and beauty of Shabbat. Let them fall in love with Israel. The rest will come later.
28. BFD! The PM goes to traif restaurants on Shabbat!
Mishael ,   Israel   (08.15.11)
Yes, there are photographs and even videos of Prime Minister Mr. Netanyahu (yes, that's right, the Prime Minister of the State of Israel) out and about with his family at any number of traif (non-kosher) restaurants on Shabbat. And the big news is the government hasn't fallen over it! No one cares! So if no one cares that the Prime Minister of the State of Israel violates the Shabbat...exactly what are all of you getting "your knickers in a twist" (or "your panties in a bunch") about a frew "Taglit" kids partying on Tisha B'Av?! ....And I am not even going to remind all of you righteous ones that Prime Minister Mr. Netanyahu also admited for the record (there's a video of that too) that he had an affair with a married woman! You ask me having a Prime Minister who eats traif and has an extramarital affair with a married woman is far worse than a bunch of kids (most of them not even Jewish) partying down on Tisha B'Av! so people, people sit down already!
29. @27 they could have gone to Yad V'Shem on Tisha B'av!
Orthodox Israeli ,   Israel   (08.15.11)
that would have fulfilled an important idea that the late Prime Minister Mr. Begin had for 'updating' Tisha B'Av. A pity his idea was never voted into law. That said, I totally agree with the points you raise.
30. 24 Charles,i thought we could rely..
ORA ,   JERUSALEM   (08.15.11)
on Wikipedia. Without your tip i wouldn t have found your comment. Always fun to read you. I lived five minutes from you,on the other side of the park.
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