Despite a national cutback in the amount of people allowed to go on the free Taglit-Birthright Israel trip, Syracuse University students will not be affected by the program’s economic hardships.

Taglit-Birthright Israel, an organization that sends thousands of Jewish young adults to Israel every year, recently announced it would cut the number of students takes from 25,000 to 10,000, or about 60 percent.

Even with these cuts, the Winnick Hillel Center for Jewish Life will not have to reduce the number of students it on its summer trip, said Shelby Baskin, engagement associate for SU’s Hillel.

Although the overall number of people taking the trip has been reduced, most universities across the country should not be affected because Hillel National will be cutting back on non-university Birthright trips.

Baskin also said that universities who sent large groups over the winter may not be able to send students over the summer.

‘We sent a small group over the winter, which is why we’re still eligible to go over the summer,’ Baskin said. ‘It’s going to affect other universities differently than it is here.’

Birthright sends Jewish adults between 18 and 26 who have never been on an organized peer group trip to Israel for free. The trip is funded by donors, with travelers only having to pay a $250 deposit that is returned after the trip. Baskin said that because of the economic downturn, donors have not been able to donate as much, which is why the number of people allowed to go has decreased.

‘A lot of people are losing money and they can’t afford to donate the way they used to,’ Baskin said.

She added that some of the donors may have lost money by investing in Bernard Madoff’s recently exposed Ponzi scheme. But a news release from Birthright said the group did not allocate any money for investment and that donors reported they were relatively unaffected. A Birthright spokesperson declined to comment.

Julia Wolkoff, a sophomore marketing and entrepreneurship major, said she’s planning on taking the trip this summer. She said it’s disappointing that not as many students will get to go as usual.

‘I think it’s unfortunate that it’s affecting my age group,’ Wolkoff said. ‘Part of the fun about Birthright is that it’s a bunch of kids doing it.’

She is not worried about not being able to go, though, and said nothing she’s read on the Web site has alarmed her about the possibility of not being able to go.

Wolkoff said she has always wanted to go to Israel and that her interest peaked last summer, when an Israeli co-counselor of hers frequently spoke of her homeland.

‘I became more and more interested in it as she talked about it,’ Wolkoff said. ‘Everyone I know that has gone on it has said it’s the most unreal thing. I hear it’s the most amazing place.’

Even the recent violence in Gaza has not curbed Wolkoff’s interest.

‘I’m not going to be going until the end of the year,’ Wolkoff said. ‘There’s no point in worrying about it right now. A lot can change in that amount of time.’

Baskin said the conflict in Gaza has not affected student interest in the trip, but that students say their parents are more concerned.

rhkheel@syr.edu

Published on February 3, 2009 at 12:00 pm