Hillel group visits Israel for birthright trip

Last semester one would not have seen junior Isaac Brinberg wearing a kippah — a small, rounded skullcap traditionally worn by Orthodox Jewish men.

That changed after winter break, when 51 IU students traveled to Israel with the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center. Brinberg was one of those students.

“I came back with an understanding of why it’s important to maintain a Jewish identity,” Brinberg said.

Israel said there weren’t a lot of other Jewish residents in his hometown of North Andover, Mass. During Christmas his house was always the only dark house on the block.

Israel did not return from his trip with a kippah, but he did return with something he said he has always wanted.

“I bought a Jewish chain,” Israel said. “I’ve always wanted one, but I never acted on it because I was kind of embarrassed to wear it.”

His embarrassment stemmed from anti-Semitism he experienced growing up, he said, but the trip to Israel increased his confidence in his Jewish identity.

Hillel’s trip is funded by Taglit-Birthright Israel, a partnership of philanthropists, Israeli citizens and Jewish communities, for the transportation of any Jewish person to Israel, according to the Hillel website.

“For me this trip was about finding my Jewish identity so I could have something to pass on to my kids,” Brinberg said. “It was about also meeting a lot of other Jews and being able to experience Israel in a group.”

And that’s exactly the point of a birthright trip. Jewish tradition insists that all Jews travel to Israel at least once to get acquainted with their religion’s origins.

Taglit-Birthright Israel’s three requirements are that the individual has at least one Jewish parent, is between the ages of 18-26 years old and has never been on a peer-led trip to Israel.

The students danced to the beat of drums on a mountaintop overlooking Jerusalem at a welcoming ceremony. They hiked along a river in the Golan Heights and camped out in the Negev desert with Bedouins.

Freshman Eric Israel said he was hesitant at first to join in on the dancing on the mountaintop, but when he saw how happily his tour guide was dancing, it encouraged him to join in.

“I felt like part of a community of people who were like me,” Israel said.
Before camping out with a Bedouin group, junior Carly Krause said she was very nervous and didn’t know what to expect.

The students ate traditional Bedouin meals with their hands, including platters of rice, beef, chicken, onions, pita bread and cabbage dishes.

“That was probably one of the best nights,” Krause said. “You really bond with the other people.”

Sarah Klein, a well-traveled senior, said she had traveled once before to Israel, but not with a group.

The first time, she went with family. She said she was not able to experience as much of Israel as she did with Taglit-Birthright Israel.

When she and her family left the country, she said it still felt foreign. The second time, she was able to envision herself living in Tel-Aviv.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt so welcomed in another country,” senior Klein said.