Celebrating decade of Taglit-Birthright in Israel

Taglit-Birthright Israel will mark a decade of activity with the El Israel event - a special journey taking place in over 18 cities and central sites in Israel, on May 10, 11 and 12.

Approximately 3,000 Jewish youth, from 10 countries around the world, will be partaking in a journey in which they will meet thousands of Israelis as well as be introduced to Israel's modern face. They will be meeting public figures, representatives of academic and research institutions, students, soldiers, representatives of commercial organizations, representatives of youth movements and many more.

This will be an exceptional opportunity for large sections of Israeli society to meet with participants of the project, to see its impact up-close and to understand the importance of Taglit-Birthright Israel to the State of Israel.

Taglit-Birthright Israel was founded 10 years ago with the mandate of bringing young Jewish participants, ages 18-26, from all over the world to Israel. None of these young people have ever been on a trip to Israel before and this opportunity connects them to Israel, to their Jewish roots and gives them an opportunity to get to know Israeli society.

Over the past decade, Taglit-Birthright Israel has brought over 250,000 young Jews to Israel and Taglit-Birthright Israel's activities have succeeded in creating actual change in how these participants, who live in the Diaspora, view their Jewish identity. Taglit-Birthright Israel has even changed the attitude of students all over the world towards Israel.

The El Israel project aims to deepen the connection of Taglit-Birthright Israel participants to Israeli society. During May, a three-day journey will be taking place in Israel from the North, South and the Center of Israel to Jerusalem.

El Israel participants will be hosted by various cities and a series of special tours and meetings will take place, including:

1. A trip from the "Roaring Lion" in Tel-Hai to Kiryat Shmona, in which the participants will meet with students from Tel-Hai Academic College, soldiers from the unit protecting the Northern border of Israel as well as residents of Kiryat Shmona.
2. A trip to the city of Safed, where the participants will meet with soldiers, students from Safed College as well as high school students. The main event will be a Jewish music event with the School for Jewish Music in the city.
3. A trip to the city of Haifa, where the participants will meet with students from the Technion, soldiers, youth movements and finally will meet with employees and the management of Hi-Tech companies from industries in the city. Various companies will host the participants for a tour around the companies, followed by a musical event.
4. A bicycle trip in the city of Tel Aviv. Participants will be riding bicycles from Ramat Ha Hayal to the Tel Aviv Harbor. Various bike-riding associations will be joining the ride, in addition to Etgarim, a non-profit organization.
5. A trip to Sderot - the trip will begin on the hill overlooking Gaza and from there they will go to Sapir College and tour the city. During the trip, they will meet with Sapir College students, soldiers, residents of Sderot and more.
   

The El Israel trip will arrive in Jerusalem on May 12 (Jerusalem Day). The participants will participate in a huge event which will conclude the walk and share the different experiences the participants had with each other.