I hope that my students will come home with a love for Israel, the people, land and country, with an understanding that they are part of something bigger than them which has much to offer them, their lives and their families, and I hope that they will want to follow up on the experience - that it is not a trip but a journey which never ends, and begin to take responsibility for their Jewish journeys. We give them tools, open doors and hopefully inspire them but in the end you need to let them continue on and connect in the ways in which they see fit. Hopefully at this critical point in their lives in which they will be deciding where to live, in what profession to work, who to marry and how they want to build their families, that Jewish values and a desire to take their rightful place among the Jewish family - whether abroad or in Israel - will help to influence those decisions. Many of you posting here were given these tools and gifts via your birth into active Jewish families; don't try to deny the same to them over petty issues. Embrace your fellow Jews and you will find that they may want to embrace you as well; pushing people away is not the way. If done right, a marvelous transformation can and often takes place over the course of those 10 days. It is worth your support and investment.

A waste of time and money.

The ari synagogue is a very holy place.It is not a theme park ,nor a tourist place ,it is first and foremost a holy place.There are ,alas ,no female staff members. Deal with it . If fok do not wish to respect our holiest places ,the solution is simple.

No need for attendants at synagogues to be too fanatical and over the top / stringent. Neither can they be too lax.Tour guides who have a problem with modesty and synagogues should rather visit mosques and try to see what kind of successful reception they will receive.Out synagogues ,OUR RULES.

Taglit was founded by philanthropists Charles Bronfman and Michael Stendhart in 2000 to give Jewish students worldwide the "gift" of a free trip to Israel. While some participants have strong ties to the Jewish community, most do not. Taglit aims at what marketing director Gidi Mart calls "the least affiliated in the Jewish people today." Around 5% of participants make Aliyah but that is not the main aim. Taglit's main aim is to create a connection between Jews in the Diaspora and Israel. You appear to be a bit of a grouch ;-)

You are not an island. Taglit was founded by philanthropists Charles Bronfman and Michael Stendhart in 2000 to give Jewish students worldwide the "gift" of a free trip to Israel. While some participants have strong ties to the Jewish community, most do not. Taglit aims at what marketing director Gidi Mart calls "the least affiliated in the Jewish people today." Around 5% of participants make Aliyah but that is not the main aim. Taglit's main aim is to create a connection between Jews in the Diaspora and Israel.

Actually ,you are right.The reality is the Taglit program is wonderful .A once -in-a-lifetime opportunity for these youngsters to see the wonder that is Israel . It truly is a gift from heaven .Even if I may feel grumpy or even unwelcoming ,the fact is Taglit is unique and may have done a lot of good .It also gives a connection between diaspora youth and Israel which would be impossible to achieve otherwise. . #1 Al has a point regarding trying to keep young israelis living in Israel and helping them to have opportunities here.

Some of your comments are so disheartening. I went on birthright in '06, then started a Students for Israel on my campus to combat anti-Zionism.... then volunteered fixing bomb shelters in '07, then went on a media-bias fellowship in '08 then decided to volunteer in South Tel Aviv with poor Israelis for 10 months '09-'10 after staffing a birthright trip for my university. Without TAGLIT birthright I NEVER would have done all of this. My grandfather escaped from Poland and I am proud to be a Jew... Oh by the way, my mom did a reform conversion. Damn, does that really mean I am not Jewish? Keep talking like this and all U.S. activists, donations, volunteers will seize to exist.

Thanks for what you wrote, I do agree with you. I too have heard about a missionary infiltration but that these young people were accepted into the Birthright program because they had a Jewish parent or grandparent and did not reveal that they themselves were practicing and missionizing Xtians. Hopefully the situation has improved and Birthright now has more success in discovering these types and not letting them into the program.

While everything is not perfect with the Birthright program, it is certainly better than nothing. Most of the kids participating have no or very little background in anything Jewish. If even a small percent of them develop an interest in Judaism and Israel due to their trip, then this is considered a success.

can buy a lot of Trophy systems for our armor. Or can give scholarships to a lot of combat vets of the I.D.F.