World Jewish News

Young Diaspora Jews to visit Israel in record numbers in 2007.

A record number of young Diaspora Jews are expected to visit Israel in 2007 after Jewish-American billionaire Sheldon Adelson donated $25 million to the Birthright program, which provides free trips to Israel.
According to Jewish Agency officials, some 60,000 Jewish youths are expected to visit Israel during 2007 on organized trips. This is a significant increase from the 30,000 people who took part in such trips in 2005, and the 35,000 who visited in 2006.
The visits range in length from ten days to a full academic year. They are all within the framework of the Birthright, Masa and Israel Experience programs funded by the Jewish Agency, Jewish communities abroad and philanthropists.
Jewish Agency Youth Department Chairman Amos Hermon told Haaretz that the rise in the number of young Jews visiting Israel was completely unexpected in light of the Second Lebanon War last summer, rumors of another war this summer and the decrease in aliya - Jewish immigration to Israel - over the past few years.
Hermon noted that the Birthright program registered the sharpest growth in numbers as a result of the $25 million donation from Sheldon Adelson, which allowed 35,000 Jews raging in age from 18 to 26, to join the free 10-day trip.
The Jewish Agency's Masa program - aimed for students wishing to study in Israel for a semester or a year - is expected to grow from 5,000 participants in 2006 to 8,000 participants in 2007.
The Israel Experience program for teenagers visiting Israel over the summer is expected to grow from some 13,000 participants to 17,000.

Источник: haaretz.com