Documentary-Walking Off Birthright
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"Like the thousands of other Jews visiting the region for the first time on Birthright trips, I wanted to see what’s really happening in Israel, and that includes the occupation."
This past summer, this view was expressed and echoed by several of the participants on Birthright trips - which are free trips to Israel, fully sponsored by the Birthright Foundation. Every year, Birthright provides all-expense paid 10-day trips to Israel to over 50,000 young adults from the Jewish diaspora each year, mainly from the United States and Canada. Since its inception in 1999, Birthright has brought 650,000 young Jewish adults from 67 countries to Israel on these pre-planned tours of the region.
For the first time since Birthright was incepted, thirteen participants walked off of their Birthright trips this summer , in protest to what they claimed was Birthright’s refusal to engage critically with Israel’s military occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The goal of this project is to share the stories of these thirteen participants – why they walked off, what sentiments were shared between them, and what this all may mean with regards to the growing resistance movements among American Jews against the institutions and communities that they were raised to be a part of.
Some participants expressed frustration with the maps of Israel being distributed amongst all the participants which leave out any demarcation of the West Bank . Some participants experienced problematic speech used to normalize and justify violence and the occupation. Some participants were frustrated by what they called historical erasure, during the moments when Israel’s history was taught without any mention of Palestinians , the generations of Palestinian families that lived on the land for thousands of years, and what happened to these communities when Israel was created. All of the participants considered these instances and events to be deeply problematic, so much so that they walked off of their trips in protest, facing risks and uncertainties about being able to return home after doing so.
This project is not an attack on the positive experiences that Birthright has offered to many of its participants over the past two decades. We will also invite leaders within Birthright and others actively involved with the organization to share their views.
This will be, though, an opportunity for these thirteen participants to tell their whole stories. It will reflect how more than ever before, young American Jews today as whole are undeniably more aware of Israeli-Palestinian politics compared to previous generations due to technology and social media, and want to ask important questions about the region in order to seek truth. Lastly, it will be a discussion piece about how an increasing number of young Jews feel that their upbringing in their own communities actually came into conflict their Jewish faith, which had taught them to ask tough questions, seek truth, show compassion and promote justice and integrity.
The Project: So far, there have been a few short 2-3 minute video clips circulating around social media of the thirteen Americans who walked off Birthright, about their experiences mentioned above. However, in telling the stories of why they walked off, they have commonly received hostility, hate and an active silencing of their stories, from people who do not agree with their actions and especially from people who conflate criticism of Israel with anti-semitism.
We are raising funds to provide a medium for these participants to tell their whole story. This will also be a platform for academics, experts and activists to offer context on the growing resistance movements among American Jewish communities to the human rights violations in the region. The result will be a 20-30 minute film of these testimonies.
Our campaign goal will go towards the transportation of the two-person film crew, food, rental of basic equipment, and other production-related expenses.
If you are willing to make a contribution, for even just $5 or $10, we can make this project a reality. We are calling on your support to help us bring these issues to the light so that they can be seen, understood and discussed. Thank you for your support in helping us document these testimonies.
This past summer, this view was expressed and echoed by several of the participants on Birthright trips - which are free trips to Israel, fully sponsored by the Birthright Foundation. Every year, Birthright provides all-expense paid 10-day trips to Israel to over 50,000 young adults from the Jewish diaspora each year, mainly from the United States and Canada. Since its inception in 1999, Birthright has brought 650,000 young Jewish adults from 67 countries to Israel on these pre-planned tours of the region.
For the first time since Birthright was incepted, thirteen participants walked off of their Birthright trips this summer , in protest to what they claimed was Birthright’s refusal to engage critically with Israel’s military occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The goal of this project is to share the stories of these thirteen participants – why they walked off, what sentiments were shared between them, and what this all may mean with regards to the growing resistance movements among American Jews against the institutions and communities that they were raised to be a part of.
Some participants expressed frustration with the maps of Israel being distributed amongst all the participants which leave out any demarcation of the West Bank . Some participants experienced problematic speech used to normalize and justify violence and the occupation. Some participants were frustrated by what they called historical erasure, during the moments when Israel’s history was taught without any mention of Palestinians , the generations of Palestinian families that lived on the land for thousands of years, and what happened to these communities when Israel was created. All of the participants considered these instances and events to be deeply problematic, so much so that they walked off of their trips in protest, facing risks and uncertainties about being able to return home after doing so.
This project is not an attack on the positive experiences that Birthright has offered to many of its participants over the past two decades. We will also invite leaders within Birthright and others actively involved with the organization to share their views.
This will be, though, an opportunity for these thirteen participants to tell their whole stories. It will reflect how more than ever before, young American Jews today as whole are undeniably more aware of Israeli-Palestinian politics compared to previous generations due to technology and social media, and want to ask important questions about the region in order to seek truth. Lastly, it will be a discussion piece about how an increasing number of young Jews feel that their upbringing in their own communities actually came into conflict their Jewish faith, which had taught them to ask tough questions, seek truth, show compassion and promote justice and integrity.
The Project: So far, there have been a few short 2-3 minute video clips circulating around social media of the thirteen Americans who walked off Birthright, about their experiences mentioned above. However, in telling the stories of why they walked off, they have commonly received hostility, hate and an active silencing of their stories, from people who do not agree with their actions and especially from people who conflate criticism of Israel with anti-semitism.
We are raising funds to provide a medium for these participants to tell their whole story. This will also be a platform for academics, experts and activists to offer context on the growing resistance movements among American Jewish communities to the human rights violations in the region. The result will be a 20-30 minute film of these testimonies.
Our campaign goal will go towards the transportation of the two-person film crew, food, rental of basic equipment, and other production-related expenses.
If you are willing to make a contribution, for even just $5 or $10, we can make this project a reality. We are calling on your support to help us bring these issues to the light so that they can be seen, understood and discussed. Thank you for your support in helping us document these testimonies.
Organizer
Anjali Daryanani
Organizer
Washington D.C., DC
