The New Zionist Youth

TAGLIT Birthright is a free 10 day trip to Israel for Jewish young adults ages 18-26. To be eligible, one has to have at least one jewish birth parent or have completed the proper procedures for conversion. Birthright claims their mission is “to ensure the vibrant future of the Jewish people by strengthening Jewish identity, Jewish communities, and connection with Israel.” Amongst those of us who have found ourselves estranged from Judaism, they are characterized by their zionist propaganda. In order to continue spreading their message, they are trying to mask the militant zionism with new ploys of progressivism like an all LGBT trip for Jewish young adults.

In all honesty, it seems far-fetched for Birthright try to portray themselves in a progressive light. This is because more often than not Zionism is taught in a way that encourages subjugation of other people or simply ignores that the subjugation is happening at all. In fact, in most situations of Jewish education I have been through, instructors fail to mention just what it was that caused all this conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. My understanding is that European powers forced Palestinians to migrate off of their own property into what we call Palestine or the West Bank. The new Jewish state was to be reparations for the events of the holocaust. Israel was founded in imperialism. The way the land acquired is reminiscent of the imperialism that created what we know as the United States today.

Many Reform Jewish communities preach progressivism, but they use avoidant techniques to describe the seizure and settlement of Israel long after the Jewish Diaspora. I will not deny that the forced migration of anyone is unjust, but the forced migration of the Israelites happened in the 6th century BCE. Israel is mentioned in the Torah as the one holy land for the Jewish people. With that understanding, it is easy for Jewish educators to justify why we deserve ownership of the land. Yet with our ties to the holy land, we seem to forget that people settled Israel while the jewish people were absent because of forced migration. We also seem to forget that (even if the land belongs to the jewish people according to the torah) diaspora is unjustifiable.

In Jewish education, I found that nothing about the horrors of the Holocaust were kept from us when we were young children. I remember hearing holocaust survivors speak, and seeing photos of starving bodies stacked up in mass graves from the very start of my Jewish education when I was around 6 years old. Sunday school teachers described to us the technological advancements and positive things about Israel, as well as the plight of Israel. That being said, the enemies of Israel and their stories remained unspoken. I was never told of the Israeli soldiers that signed bombs before they were sent to Palestine and dropped into civilian neighborhoods. It was expected that we form our opinions about Israel with only one side of the story. And by and large, that meant raising a new zionist youth.

If Sunday school lessons and being told to pray for Israeli soldiers was not enough to convince Jewish youth of the viability and victimhood of the Israel, there is birthright. Birthright puts you in the shoes of Israeli people- living their lives, but also more than likely living through airstrike sirens and a guarantee to see Israeli soldiers every place traveled. In addition to that itself as a fear tactic to gain support for Israel, Birthright refuses to hire Palestinian speakers to share their stories alongside Israeli soldiers and civilians. Through these stories from Israeli people, our ability to view the Israel- Palestine conflict in a neutral light is difficult. I am not saying that Palestine is completely innocent in this conflict either. I am saying that undying support for Israel is not appropriate and it is unjust.  

source information:
https://www.birthrightisrael.com/about_us
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_diaspora