from The Forward:
Largest Outreach Effort for Alums of Birthright Raises Concerns
Taglit-Birthright Israel… has carefully tended its image as pluralistic and inclusive. But the religious slant and political orientation of the largest, most well-funded organizer of follow-up programs for Birthright alumni is raising concerns, even among top Birthright officials.
The Jewish Enrichment Center, which some people characterize as a kiruv, or Orthodox outreach organization, has been given a virtual monopoly on reaching out to the tens of thousands of Birthright alumni who return to the New York Tri-State area. This large pool of young adults represents one third of all those who have gone on Birthright trips, a majority of whom are non-Orthodox Jews.
The center is the official New York partner of Birthright Israel NEXT, an arm of Taglit-Birthright established three years ago to fulfill the critical job of follow up. This new effort provides funds to more than two dozen Hillel houses, local Jewish federations and not-for-profits nationwide to encourage alumni engagement in Jewish life. But the Jewish Enrichment Center receives more than all these other beneficiaries combined.
The group was given $1.4 million last year, according to Birthright Israel NEXT’s executive director, Rabbi Daniel Brenner. In 2007, the last year for which the Forward was able to attain tax returns, the JEC received $1.87 million. By contrast, that year, Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life was granted a total of $547,516 for programming nationwide.
who cares that JEC recieved more funding- the question is are they doing their job? what are the goals of Birthright? If the JEC has the largest percent of long term return to Israel then they should recieve the money. If the Hillel houses are more succesful at building deep commitments to Israel by the Taglit participants then great give them funding…but what is the concern? that God forbid people that come back from Birthrite should get too turned on to Judaism??? or that they may be stuffing the directors pockets?
Does Birthrite only want ppl to come away with nice feelings to Israel? or create generations that will help build the land?
Who cares? I do!
When Hillel receives less funding, then it can’t provide as much programming. Programming costs money.
How is funding allocated to the various organizations? Is it done in a transparent process? Or is it subject to political pressure? Is the intent to create aliyah or to foster Jewish identity in its many forms or only Orthodox Jewish identity?
Follow the money.
Yasher Koach, Rochelle – you are asking the right questions. Transparency is critical and clouds anything else even if the final allocations are justified. The other problem here is the geographical bias. New York-based agencies do tend to bias their grants towards New York-based agencie IME and the communities with Jews more geographically spread-out tend to have to spend more per capita than the New York area does due to travel, access to kosher food, etc. Again, transparency would allow folks to know how these grants are being considered.