Birthright Israel Parent Michelle Ahdoot: Building Strength and Unity

Activist and mother Michelle Ahdoot is an alumna of one of Birthright Israel’s very first pilot trips in the mid 1990s, when founders and philanthropists Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt first conceived of the program.

Fast-forward a few decades, and it’s “full circle,” said Ahdoot, now Director of Programming and Strategy at End Jew Hatred, a grassroots Jewish civil rights movement.

Ahdoot was an undergraduate at New York University at the time of her pilot Birthright Israel trip. She now has four children – two in college themselves, both at Duke University. One has participated in a Birthright Israel trip, and the next is on deck to go.

Ahdoot’s nephew, a Binghamton University student and the son of Ahdoot’s brother who accompanied her on that pilot trip so many years ago, just took his Birthright Israel trip over the summer. “We’re born and bred Zionists,” Ahdoot said of her family. “It’s who we are.”

Several members of this steadfast family have visited Israel in the months following the horrors of October 7th, even in a climate where some diaspora Jews are hesitant to go, or to send their children.

Ahdoot acknowledged these practical concerns, as well as the fact that in life, “nothing is ever guaranteed,” but ultimately she is unwavering in her conviction: when it comes to visiting Israel, “the positives largely and vastly outweigh the negatives” – even and especially in the current moment.

“Now, when things are so in limbo and we’re sort of questioning what will the future hold, what better time is there to go?” she asked. “I shouldn't even say ‘what better’ – what more important time is there to go than now?”

This was the feeling Ahdoot had herself when she visited Israel in January, shortly after Hamas’ brutal attacks.

“It’s a necessary thing right now – for people to go both on the support level and also to go witness and see and learn,” Ahdoot said.

One of the best ways to do that is on a Birthright Israel trip, where during participants’ immersive 10 days, they go well beyond simply accumulating facts about Jewish history and practice.

“I actually don’t think it’s necessary for someone to know every detail to be a proud Jew and an empowered Jew,” Ahdoot said. “What Birthright Israel brings to the table is that intangible passion that someone might not have until they go and see Israel firsthand.”

This was “life-altering” for Ahdoot’s daughter Alex, Ahdoot said, and for Alex’s friends who had never been to Israel before their Birthright trip two years ago.

Despite growing up in her strong Zionist family and having visited Israel multiple times, Alex still came home saying, “Mom, the Birthright experience was so different. We went places I hadn't been to before. We learned about things I hadn't learned about before. We spoke to people I hadn't spoken to before,” Ahdoot said. “Every time you go to Israel, you’re picking up different nuances… it’s a fresh take on it each time you step off that plane.”

Fresher now in a post-October 7th world, she added. In particular, the “unity and pride” displayed by Israeli society in the wake of the atrocities “is probably one of the most invaluable things any child can ever witness, and it is completely something that will shape their being going forward,” Ahdoot said.

This was the case for her nephew, whose summer 2024 Birthright Israel trip highlighted Israeli resilience.

“Once he was there, it was business as usual,” Ahdoot said. “Business as usual with an overshadowing of that mixture of pride, sadness, but at the same time, strength.”

To see this strength modeled is necessary for young diaspora Jews now more than ever, in the face of college campus protests and spiking antisemitism. It’s something with which Ahdoot is keenly familiar given her tireless work with End Jew Hatred, the organization founded by civil rights attorney Brooke Goldstein.

Ahdoot has a hand in everything from on-the-ground rallies and events to extensive digital activism, all aimed at eradicating antisemitism and advocating for Jewish civil rights. It’s a grassroots movement with a mission relevant to all Jews, and one for which a Birthright Israel trip can lay the foundation.

“The real link here is empowerment,” Ahdoot said, in that Birthright Israel participants “come back ready,” with “a voice that they didn’t have pre-Birthright.”

Participants return from Israel not only knowing that “the narratives about Israel aren't true,” but also understanding “what Jew hatred can bring because of these false narratives and lies,” Ahdoot said. Armed with this knowledge, “you're coming back stronger than you were, so you're ready to be louder on campus if need be.”

Participants return from Israel not only feeling stronger, but also more connected, Ahdoot said – to Israel, to Judaism and to each other. A college student after a Birthright Israel trip might be more inclined to join a Jewish organization or attend a Shabbat dinner, she said, “and all of that leads to a better climate for Jewish students on campus.”

Ultimately, it comes down to connection.

“All I tout is unity, unity, unity,” Ahdoot said. “I don't think we’ll get anywhere without it.”