Name and premise aside, many take issue with the way Birthright trips are conducted. What does it mean to “walk-off” of Birthright?
This means that a Palestinian born in the city of Haifa in 1945 who was displaced by Zionist militaries in 1948 would not be allowed to return to Haifa today, but a Jewish person from Michigan whose family has never stepped foot in or near Haifa can be invited for free via Birthright Israel. In fact, the Israeli government does not recognize Palestinian refugees’ right of return, a stance that defies international law. What some take issue with is that this right is not granted to Palestinians who were born in cities and villages that Israel has since occupied or settled. It mirrors Israel’s Law of Return, which grants all Jews, regardless of where they were born, the right to settle and eventually become citizens of Israel. This idea is that by birth, despite having no familial connections to Israel, Jews across the world have the right to visit Israel. The issue begins with the organization’s name and the premise upon which the entire program was built: the birthright. The unifying sentiment across nearly all criticism of Birthright is that the program’s existence is an affront to Palestinians and spreads misinformation about how Israel came to be. Despite Birthright becoming something of a right of passage for American Jews, many oppose its existence.
