Spend the money on your own kids and make sure they have a skill to earn a living. If they will be able to work and make a living in Israel they wont be going to the malls of America trying to sell piss water.

free trip is a # 1 reason why they coming...

Opportunity .If only I were mega-wealthy I would donate a meaningful amount of money to this programme ,but alas I can not.

I came to Israel on a program similiar to birthright. After finishing medical school and spending a few years working in Ottawa I decided to make aliya. I have now been in Israel 10 years and have treated thousands of patients. I married an Israeli and now have two beautiful Israeli born daughters.

In most cases it may be a waste of money and it would be better spending it on Israeli youths. Moreover, many of those TAGLIT participants come from mixed marriages where the mother is not Jewish. Thus, TAGLIT also accepts Gentiles.

you didnt need this Taglit program and you know it. Dollar for dollar its a waste of time and money. Like I said, it would be better that Israeli born kids be encouraged to stay in Israel by getting the skills needed to make a living in Israel. As it stands right now, lots of Israeli kids piss their time away touring the world after their army service. When they come back home should their parents not have the money to get them into university or in a trade school they up and leave for overseas. It would be better and smarter that the $100M be set aside for these former soldiers to aquire skills. Keep your kids in Isreal instead of trying to entice foreign party kids to come and live in Israel. These foreign kids go there to party and hang out...Thats all they really do. A complete waste of time and money.

Too many of the participants are either total seculars who only come for a good time, or else non-Jews with only a Jewish father but not a mother (ergo not Jewish). These folks are a bad influence on our youth. The Taglit youth show up nakete hait (shorts, bikinis, etc.) and have no idea of Torah values. We'd be better off enticing religious youth who know how to dress and to behave to come instead. At least we know they are authentically Jewish!

Magnificent program. The first comment by "Al" is unfortunate, based as it is on his ignorance, This invaluable program is vitally important now that anti-Israeli sentiment and anti-Semitism is not merely acceptable but is popular on major American college campuses and Ivy League universities. One must fight ignorance with facts and realities and the fact is that Israel is a democracy with a history of tolerance for all religions, while her neighbors are slaughtering Christians and burning their churches, and of course, wish for the total annihilation of Israel. The reality of this vibrant democracy must be seen to counter the egregious lies presented in classrooms across the USA. Ambassador Michael Oren is correct in his statements about the crucial value of this brilliant program.

Birthright is not only about jewish kids making aliyah or about jewish kids staying in Israel. If you read the article, much of positive effect has to do with Israel advocacy, as in kids who come on the trip and then do PR for Israel when they go back to chul.

Thats not true at all!

I agree with each and every word you have written. The people behind Taglit/ Birthshite mean well though.It does seem to be little more than a free vacation and opportunity to party . On the other hand ,I have little doubt that some folk have derived enormous satisfaction and benefit ,spiritual ,material or otherwise from the Taglit program ,even if only a few so things are not as dark as they may seem ,if you know what I mean.

"...These folks are a bad influence on our youth. The Taglit youth show up nakete hait (shorts, bikinis, etc...." 1.Our youth?? Where??? !n Canada??? 2.You don't have to teach Israeli girls about bikinis :-)))))

Racism, sexism...what other wonderful characteristics do you have?

They show up at our holy synagogues in Sefat ,such as the Ari in very unsuitable attire i.e. dressed like cheap hookers. And I am not haredi and am broadminded.

When you visit our holy places and ancient synagogues ,please cover up your semi-naked teenage girls .Too provocative for that context.Aside from that .WELCOME TO ISRAEL.

are damn proud of their Jewish roots. Much more than some born in Israel, believe me. What does it matter a mother, father or grandparents are Jews. Must have the possibility to see and should have the opportunity to feel and themselves choose. Magnificent program. I agree that former Israeli soldiers deserve more this money, but I disagree that the program is a "waste of time"

When an individual voices such harsh bigoted views of a bunch of kids just enjoying their youth, it immediately makes one think: Why is he so angry? He is probably ashamed of himself. My guess is...you know all too well... that for some reason your own jewishness is bogus...Do us all a favor and just stay put...no need for people like you in the Holy Land. Taglit kids, on the other hand, are more than welcome!

Anything that can entice our young to become engaged and aware of their roots is good. We spend too much energy finding ways to divide our small numbers. These "kids" return and have less intermarriages, assiimulation and more affiliation. Hooray!

I think that most young people participating do become more interested in Israel and in their Jewishness. Of course, there are those who do not - I don't know what the percentage is. One problem though is that quite a few are not Jewish, they do not have a Jewish mother. There were even some stories about some young missionaries that came. I think that the Birthright staffers try to make sure that it doesn't happen any more.

If it wasnt for Taglit I wouldn't make Aliyah even though I'm secular

Some of the young people who spent their trip here going to discos and partying may later on in life think about the meaning of their visit to Israel and what it means to be a Jew and only then really feel connected. It may take some years but it's a possibility. I also read about a problem of young missionaries a few years ago. These were people that had a Jewish father or grandfather but were raised Xtians. I think that the Birthright organizers have been trying to look into the problem and to check out the applicants more thoroughly.

How many of these kids would come if they didn't get a freebie? How many would go to Mexico or Italy if they were given the choice between those countries and Israel? And how many of these families can afford to send their children? Come on! Maybe a small % really want to come to see what it's all about. Lots of my family members and friend's kids from the States have been here on Taglit. They have a great time and 2 months later, forget all about it. A few will become involved on their campus back home and here and there, someone will come on aliyah. It is not true that all the money comes from donations. One third comes from our tax money. Sorry - when we don't have enough school rooms or hospital beds, I think we need to think about priorities. If private donations want to subsidize trips for those who can prove financial need, then fine. To give freebie trips to one and all. No way.

A lot of these kids families can probably afford to pay for the trip, but they don't want to. Visiting Israel is not a priority for them. Even with all the problems, I still think that it does accomplish some positive things.

I was parked on the beach in Haifa next to a Taglit group from the US, and I overheard them speaking all afternoon. They were clearly loving the trip, and were bitten by the Israel bug. They were impressed by Israel, and there were several conversations about Aliyah that afternoon. Taglit is, whether it intends to or not, helping us arrive to the day when "Jewish" and "Israel" will be synonyms again, and we are no longer divided about combining Jewish Faith, Jewish Nationality, and the Land of Israel. Being Jewish is NOT just an ethnic or religious background, and I am pleased for these young adults to see their ancient and hopefully modern homeland. Jews are not naturized here but simply claim and process their nationality as Israelis--because being Israeli, Israelite, is inherent in being a Jew.

"...because being Israeli, Israelite, is inherent in being a Jew. " So what about Israeli citizens who is not Jewish??

I disagree with the talk-backers who call this program a waste of money. I did this program when I was 18 and the experience was able to help me battle anti-Israel students on American campuses. We had many educational lectures on the tour I was on. Parties was only a fraction of it. In the end, I came back to Israel for a one year program and then made Aliyah and married a sabra, and am now working for a Zionist organization. The program works!

Each Taglit group is different. Some have a better impact than others. The idea behind Taglit is GREAT. The fact that its happening is GREAT. However, there are some legitimate complaints about Taglst. They just need to fine tune it, raise the standards, and make it a better program.

It appears that many of the talkbackers - as usual - don't have much of an idea of what they are talking about. Taglit was not founded nor is the purpose of it to fight anti-Israel behavior or to promote Aliyah or increased religious observance. These are byproducts of the program. It was created because of a survey which found that the number of American Jews (keeping in mind that Taglit is a global program now) was rapidly decreasing - not due to intermarriage (which is a factor of course) but because for many people they wouldn't even bother to identify as Jewish - that being a Jew was that unimportant to their lives. The trip to Israel was supposed to serve as an awakening or a discovery - hence the name in Hebrew - Taglit - as opposed to the name in English, Birthright. As always, the Hebrew is the real meaning. More to come...

I am a tour guide who has guided some 30+ taglit groups. In my groups on average of 40 people, there are about 3 or so who are not halachically Jewish, that's it. And the reason for that is that part of the American Jewish community recognizes them as Jews. Sometimes it is only on Birthright that these issues come up for the first time and it usually - if handled appropriately - leads to them wanting to learn more and possibly even do an Orthodox conversion (for those for whom it is important and meaningful to do so). If someone has come to missionize or for someone who is not at all a part of the Jewish people (used liberally here), the minute it is found out they are removed from the trip and are sent home - along with a bill for the cost of the program.

As a guide, like the vast majority of my colleagues, I make very certain that in areas and situations that demand it, appropriate dress is worn. Not getting inspected at the Ari synagogue in Tzfat from head to toe, however, would be appreciated. The respectful and tznius thing to do would be, prior to the group's entering, ask politely for a female staff member to hand out scarves to those who may need it. Regarding alcohol, the issue used to be much worse in the past but has greatly improved over the last number of years. It is not a big party; maybe 1-2 nights out of 10 are going out nights, and on certain nights alcohol is completely forbidden.