Birthright Israel Foundation Blog

March 25, 2026

Palm Beach Celebrates Birthright Israel and the Jewish Future

On March 23, Birthright Israel Foundation brought together more than 150 supporters at the Norton Museum of Art's Great Lawn for its annual Palm Beach event, an inspiring night of community, conversation, and commitment to the next generation.Honorary Chairs Rita and Charles Bronfman and Co-Chairs Susan and Ronnie Pertnoy showed guests what 27 years of visionary philanthropy can build. National...

March 23, 2026

Brandeis University: Birthright Israel Reverses Generational Decline in Jewish Identity

Brandeis University has documented the sharpest decline in Jewish connection among young American Jews in 25 years. Without intervention, campus pressure, misinformation, and political polarization are pulling young Jews away from Jewish life.Birthright Israel is the proven solution: participants return more connected to Israel, more grounded in their Jewish identity, and more committed to the Jewish community.The impact doesn't fade...

March 13, 2026

A Generation Steps Forward: Inside the Birthright Israel Excel Summit

Last week, 500 Birthright Israel Excel Fellows from around the world gathered at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York for the Excelerate26 Summit. To understand why this weekend mattered, you first need to understand who was in that room and what brought them there.Who Was In That RoomBirthright Israel Excel Fellows are students from Harvard, Stanford, Penn, Cambridge,...

March 4, 2026

Birthright Israel Helped Me Become the Jewish Educator I Am Today

I grew up in Commack, Long Island, in a Reform Jewish family. My parents are from the Bronx, and although our home wasn’t kosher, I had my bar mitzvah, and spent summers going up to the Catskills for family reunions.I never originally saw myself as a Jewish educator. I saw myself as Jewish and happened to work in a yeshiva...

February 17, 2026

From Quiet, Hidden Judaism to Pride and Responsibility

My name is Tatyana Kheyfets, and I live in San Ramon, California. I was born in Gomel, Belarus, and immigrated to the United States in 1995 when I was nine years old. My life has always been shaped by the desire to build meaningful relationships, learn from different perspectives, and stay actively engaged with my community. Growing up in Belarus,...

February 6, 2026

VIDEO: Elias Saratovsky and Birthright Israel Alumni on Network TV

February 5, 2026

Birthright Israel: “If Not Me, Then Who?” 

This reflection was written in January 2025, following a Birthright Israel staff mission to Israel. I was there during the release of hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher, who had been held in Hamas captivity for more than a year. I landed back home just 24 hours ago, and I am still in disbelief at what I experienced. I...

February 3, 2026

Birthright Israel Through My Eyes as an Israeli American

I was born in Israel, and my family moved to the U.S. when I was seven and a half. I grew up in New Jersey, and now I’m a fourth-year student at Drexel University, majoring in biology. I work at a cancer immunotherapy research lab at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and I’m exploring a career in medicine.As an immigrant...

January 29, 2026

Birthright Israel Made Me Ask: How Can I Be a Better Jew?

I’m from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and I’m a sophomore at Drexel University in Philadelphia, studying marketing. I’m interested in social media and branding, and I also play basketball. I went to Hebrew school until about age thirteen and had my bar mitzvah, but after that, there was a gap. Then the pandemic hit, everything got chaotic, and before I knew...

January 29, 2026

Birthright Israel: "Don't Wait"

For most of my life, Israel was something I was supposed to wait for. When I was growing up in a Chabad Chasidic community, the answer was seminary. When COVID-19 shut that door, the answer became “next year.” When my health collapsed, the answer became “when you can walk again.”Once COVID restrictions were lifted, and I had time off from...