History
The Birthright Israel program was initiated in 1994 and founded in cooperation with Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt, as well as the Israeli government, private philanthropists, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and Jewish communities around the world. Top educators, historians and tourism professionals were recruited to plan the program, for which demand is very high. Tours are held in the winter and summer. Registration is conducted online and each round there are thousands more applicants than spots available.
In 2007, annual capacity was increased to 37,000 participants a year. Taglit is the Hebrew word for discovery, and participants, most of whom are visiting Israel for the first time, are encouraged to discover new meaning in their personal Jewish identity and connection to Jewish history and culture.
In 2011, a new initiative was launched to increase the number annual participants from 30,000 to 51,000 by 2013. Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson pledged an additional $5 million toward the effort that would allow one out of every two young Jewish adults to participate. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu also announced an increase in the government's budget for Taglit-Birthright Israel, pledging $100 million to Taglit-Birthright Israel over the next three years. To match this commitment, the Israeli government expects a corresponding increase in funding from Birthright Israel’s partner organizations - the Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Agency for Israel - and from individual donors.
Read more about this topic: Birthright Israel
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