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Survey: Birthright achieves its goals
Taking part in Taglit-Birthright Israel program improves attitudes towards Israel and Judaism, survey conducted by Brandeis University finds
Yitzhak Benhorin
WASHINGTON - Taking part in the Taglit-Birthright Israel program improves attitudes towards Israel and Judaism, a survey conducted by Brandeis University reveals.
According to the survey, the program's participants hold stronger positive opinions towards Israel and their Jewish identity compared to their peers who did not take part in the program. It also concludes that the participants are more involved in the Jewish community.
The survey was carried out by Professor Leonard Saxe at the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies. It surveyed almost 3,000 Jewish youths who participated in Taglit and about 1,000 participation candidates.
Between 61 to 71 percent of Taglit's graduates said they feel a strong connection to Israel, compared to 39 to 43 percent of the candidates.
The findings regarding long-term influences were also impressive: Among participants in Taglit 2002, 41 percent are taking part in Hillel activities at campus, compared to only 12 percent among other Jewish youth.
Taglit CEO Shimshon Shoshany was pleased with the results.
"It confirms the fact that we reached our goal," he said. "We want to connect the youth to Israel and to their Jewish roots."
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