Blog | Birthright Israel Foundation

October 16, 2025

Birthright Israel Brought My Jewish Story Full Circle

by Andrew Shapiro , 2025 Birthright Israel Alumnus

I’m from Utah—a fourth-generation Shapiro born and raised in Salt Lake City. Being Jewish in Utah means standing out, but it’s made my pride that much stronger. My great-grandpa emigrated to the U.S. from the Ukraine–Lithuania area around 1900 and made it to Salt Lake City about a decade later, where he met and married my great-grandmother—a well-educated Jewish woman...

Alums Trip Highlights

October 16, 2025

Birthright Israel Volunteers Bring New Hope to Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha

by Birthright Israel Foundation

Birthright Israel Volunteer recently partnered with Hebro, a New York–based organization for gay Jews, to help bring new life to Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, one of the Gaza envelope communities that has largely been empty since October 7th. Now, as residents return, Birthright Israel volunteers are working beside them to restore shared spaces and bring back the warmth and rhythm of...

Alums Trip Highlights

October 16, 2025

Finding My Musical Jewish Voice Through Birthright Israel Storytellers

by Kate Amrine , 2025 Birthright Israel Onward Storytellers Alumna

I’m a trumpet player and teacher based in New York City. I play on Broadway and on tours around the world, and I also perform as a soloist. I love commissioning new works by composers and performing music that’s about the issues I care deeply about—women’s rights, climate change, social justice. I didn’t grow up with any Jewish background or...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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?”...

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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Birthright Israel Foundation Blog

Birthright Israel Brought My Jewish Story Full Circle

Birthright Israel Volunteers Bring New Hope to Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha

Finding My Musical Jewish Voice Through Birthright Israel Storytellers

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

One Week Changed Me on Birthright Israel Volunteer

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

Why I Became a Birthright Israel Recruiter

Visiting Schneider Children’s Medical Center with Birthright Israel Volunteer

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

Birthright Israel Excel Showed Me the Importance of Speaking Up

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