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Birthright Israel Foundation Blog

David Rittberg
Alums Leadership & Supporters Trip Highlights

October 16, 2025

How Birthright Israel Inspired David Rittberg’s Work in Jewish Philanthropy

by Birthright Israel Foundation

David Rittberg is the Senior Director of the U.S. Jewish Grantmaking team at the Schusterman Family Philanthropies, where he oversees Jewish and Israel-related giving alongside foundation leaders and the Schusterman family. After 13 years at Schusterman, he still traces the origins of his career in Jewish philanthropy back to his Birthright Israel trip. David grew up in a family deeply...

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Alums Trip Highlights

October 10, 2025

One Week Changed Me on Birthright Israel Volunteer

by Ari Tuerack , 2002 Birthright Israel Alumnus

I’m from Long Island, New York. I’m in my third year at Binghamton University, majoring in economics, and I love it here. Binghamton has a strong Jewish community, which was a big reason I chose it. I wasn’t very religious when I was younger, but over time, my family became more observant. My sisters and I went to Jewish day...

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Jules Charen FEATURED
Alums Trip Highlights

October 9, 2025

I Looked Up at the Same Stars as My Ancestors on Birthright Israel

by Jules Charen , 2025 Birthright Israel Alumna

I am from Baltimore, and I went to Israel with the Johns Hopkins Birthright Israel trip. I wasn’t actually a student there. I worked on their medical campus at a gym for alumni, students, and doctors. One day someone who came through the gym said, “Hey, I heard you’re Jewish. Have you heard about the Hopkins Hillel?” Later I saw...

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Alums Trip Highlights

October 9, 2025

Why I Became a Birthright Israel Recruiter

by Sydni Wasserman , 2025 Birthright Israel Alumna and Recruiter

I grew up in Buffalo, New York, in a place where being Jewish wasn’t the norm. Most of my classmates celebrated Christmas, and during Passover or Rosh Hashanah, I was often the only one missing school. My parents had enrolled me in Hebrew school to instill those Jewish values I was missing, and I spent summers at a Jewish camp...

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Alums Trip Highlights

October 9, 2025

Visiting Schneider Children’s Medical Center with Birthright Israel Volunteer

by Emily Shrode , 2025 Birthright Israel Volunteer

I’m from Texas. I officially joined the Tribe when I was twenty-three. But my journey to conversion began years earlier, at a Jewish day camp in Austin where I worked as a camp counselor. I felt like myself there. Being among Jewish people who shared the same values, and getting to impart those values to the campers, felt like home....

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Alums Trip Highlights

September 3, 2025

Birthright Israel Helped Me Uncover Why I Value My Judaism and Israel 

by Ethan Roberts , 2025 Birthright Israel Alumnus

I grew up going to Hebrew school three times a week, celebrating the High Holidays, and having Seder with my family. Being Jewish was an important part of my identity, but it was directed and led by my parents. It wasn’t like they were asking me, “Do you want to be Jewish? Do you want to go to Hebrew school?”...

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Paige Cobrin FEATURED
Alums Trip Highlights

September 2, 2025

Birthright Israel Excel Showed Me the Importance of Speaking Up

by Paige Cobrin , 2025 Birthright Israel Excel Fellow

I’m a junior at Cornell University studying mechanical engineering and business. I’m from Fairfield County, Connecticut, and Judaism has always been a strong part of my life. I grew up going to Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, where I learned the prayers and experienced Jewish community. We’d have services every morning and Kabbalat Shabbat all together in a big amphitheater...

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Jared Erman FEATURED
Alums Trip Highlights

August 27, 2025

Birthright Israel Onward Was the Best Summer of My Life

by Jared Erman , 2025 Birthright Israel Onward Alumnus

I’m a junior at Ohio State from New Jersey. I’m studying finance with a minor in music. Maybe one day I’ll find a way to bring the two together. At school I’m on the Chabad board, and I’m also part of Tamid, a student organization that works with Israeli startups. Through Tamid, I learned about the fellowship that took me...

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Zachary Sardi-Santos FEATURED
Alums Trip Highlights

August 27, 2025

My Zionism is Unshakable Thanks to Birthright Israel Excel

by Zachary Sardi-Santos , 2025 Birthright Israel Excel Fellow

I am a senior at Harvard studying Applied Math and Computer Science. I was born and raised in Newton, Massachusetts. My mom is Ashkenazi Jewish. Her entire family, for centuries, are Ashkenazi Jews from Budapest, Hungary. It was and had always been their home. Of course, this changed with the Holocaust—most of my mother’s family were robbed of their homes,...

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Avery Rosin FEATURED
Alums Leadership & Supporters Trip Highlights

August 26, 2025

My Journey Creating Ripples of Leadership with Birthright Israel

by Avery Rosin , 2011 Birthright Israel Excel Fellow

I grew up in Los Angeles, third generation, in a Reform Jewish household. We always celebrated the holidays, and Hanukkah was my favorite. I loved playing dreidel, lighting the candles, and gathering with close friends and family. My parents hosted a Hanukkah party every year, and we were lucky to have friends who made the best latkes in town. Passover...

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