Maddison Spiegel of Westchester County, New York, had tried for years to go on a Birthright trip to Israel but somehow it never happened.
The first time she was supposed to go the COVID-19 pandemic got in the way, freezing all trips. The next time Spiegel applied she learned belatedly she had missed a deadline. Then came the war sparked by Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
Finally—this past December—Spiegel unexpectedly was offered a spot on Birthright. She grabbed it, joining 25 other young people on the free 10-day trip to the Jewish state. While some Birthright trippers or their parents were a bit nervous given the news from Israel and Gaza at the time, their concerns were assuaged as soon as the trip began, they said.
“We had an armed guard with us who was also a medic, so that was a big stress reliever,” said Spiegel, 24. “We never had to go to a shelter, and the staff knew every stop of the way. Never once did I feel unsafe.”
And unlike on trips before the war, Birthright trips now include components related to Israel’s experience since Oct. 7, such as visits to so-called Hostage Square in Tel Aviv and volunteering opportunities elsewhere in the country, that make the trip all the more meaningful, organizers say.
“Parents are definitely still concerned, and we want to reassure them that we take safety and security very seriously,” said Noa Bauer, Birthright’s vice president of global marketing. “More than that, their children will not only have the Birthright Israel experience but also another layer of Jewish community identity, resilience and connection to Israel. This is a very important aspect of the trip, especially for college students facing antisemitism on campus. They won’t feel alone on Birthright and will have new Jewish friends when they go back home.”
Spiegel, who works as an HR coordinator at Westchester Medical Center, was one of 20,000 young Jews who visited Israel on Birthright last year. In 2025, Birthright expects the number to rise to 30,000, Bauer said. In 2019, Birthright’s peak year, the organization saw about 49,000 participants.
Maddison Spiegel’s mother, Joyce Spiegel, said she was very glad her daughter chose to go despite the war.
“We really wanted her to go, and we shared in her disappointment every time she tried to get a trip and was unable to,” Joyce Spiegel said. “As soon as we saw the itinerary, we felt much better knowing they were taking all the necessary precautions and weren’t in any direct danger.”
Mila Brener, 20, went on Birthright last August. The daughter of an Israeli mother and an American father, Brener, who lives in Los Angeles, said she always has had deep feelings for Israel—thanks in part to her grandmother in Haifa, with whom she has always been close.
“After Oct. 7, all I could think about was my savta,” said Brener, then a student at the New York Film Academy, using the Hebrew word for grandmother. “The war started while I was in my first semester in college, and it really took a toll on me. On social media, I saw the growth of antisemitism, and when we were putting up posters of the hostages on campus, people would rip them down and scream that it was Zionist propaganda. I couldn’t believe my eyes that this was happening in this day and age.”
Encouraged by her parents, Shirly and Bruce Brener, Mila signed up for Birthright—and came back newly energized and passionate about Israel.
“There was not one boring moment on that trip,” Brener said. “The most impactful was the Nova music festival site, which they’ve turned into a memorial. Just being there was so heartbreaking.”
In 2024, Birthright drew participants aged 18-26 from a variety of countries, with most coming from the United States, Canada, France, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, Ukraine, Britain and Germany. Since Birthright’s launch in December 1999, some 900,000 young Jews have joined its programs.
“I’m not in the business of convincing people. I want to make sure that the participants and their parents feel comfortable,” Bauer said. “A lot of young Jews want to come to Israel, especially now, and see it for themselves—behind the headlines, behind TikTok. They want to learn, and Birthright—as an educational organization—is their best option to do it.”
After the Oct. 7 attacks, Birthright made some adjustments to the core 10-day trip. Initially, excursions to the Golan Heights and the northern Galilee city of Tzfat were eliminated, though Tzfat has since been added back, as a ceasefire with Lebanon remains in effect. In addition, every group spends a few hours doing volunteer projects, such as planting trees or preparing housing for Israelis displaced by the war.
Each group of 40 or so Birthright participants has two staffers, an Israeli tour guide and a security guard/medic, as well as eight additional young Israelis, usually soldiers, who accompany the group for five days.
“Meeting Israeli peers is one of the most exciting aspects of the trip,” Bauer said. “What strikes me the most is seeing participants coming to Israel and saying, ‘I actually feel safer here than I do back home.’ They take out their Star of David and wear it proudly—and they come back with new friends and a stronger sense of resilience.”
That was the case for Mackenzie Cooper, 20, of Smithtown, New York.
Mackenzie’s father, Craig Cooper, said it’s natural for parents to worry about their daughters.
“When she went on Birthright two summers ago, I had my own level of concern,” he said. “Any parent who knows the tumultuous history of the Middle East would be foolish not to be concerned. Even before Oct. 7, we asked all the questions any parent would ask.”
Now 20, Mackenzie Cooper is a pre-law student at SUNY Binghamton. She recently returned to Israel for two months as part of the Birthright Onward program, where she interned for the municipality of Tel Aviv as a writer and proofreader in the city’s marketing department.
“Shaping Israel’s international perspective from the local level was an incredible experience,” she said. “I was on a beach in Tel Aviv when they announced the rescue of four hostages in Gaza. I didn’t even understand Hebrew, but everyone was jumping and screaming with joy.
I felt completely safe, surrounded by love.”
Bauer added, “Today, Birthright offers an array of opportunities in Israel. From the well-known free 10-day trip to volunteering, internships, fellowships and prestigious summer programs, we have something for everyone.”
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