At a briefing held at Brandeis House in New York City this
morning (October 26), we released our latest study of Taglit-Birthright Israel
alumni, Generation Birthright Israel: The Impact of an Israel Experience on
Jewish Identity and Choices. The new study is the first systematic inquiry
into whether the strong positive attitudes expressed by participants after
their Birthright Israel trips affect their long-term development and engagement
with the Jewish community. The simple answer is that the impact appears to be
profound.
In our study, we interviewed alumni who participated in
Birthright Israel five to eight years ago and compared them to similar peers
who applied to the program but did not go. Participants, many years after
their trip, describe their experience as "life changing." Compared to
their peers who did not participate, alumni expressed stronger connections to
Israel, connections to the Jewish people, and were more highly motivated to create
Jewish families. But, even more striking was the finding that among married
non-Orthodox respondents, participants were 57% more likely to be married to a
Jew. Notably, the program's effects were stronger for participants who
came to it with relatively weak Jewish backgrounds. Because more recent Taglit
cohorts (those after 2005) included larger proportions of less engaged
participants, it is possible that future research will show an even larger
impact.
The findings have obvious significance for Jewish community leaders concerned
about promoting Jewish continuity and ties to Israel. But perhaps more
importantly, Taglit has provided an extraordinary laboratory to understand the
development of Jewish identity and a window on how contemporary Jewish young
adults think about their lives and find meaning.
We hope that you will review the study. As always, my colleagues and I welcome
your comments.
Leonard Saxe,
Director
Cohen Center
for Modern Jewish Studies
Steinhardt
Social Research Institute |
