Didi Remez of Coteret.com spotted this online video of what appears to be an Australian Chabad Birthright group visiting Hebron earlier this month:
But Birthright's stated policy is to refrain from bringing their groups to Hebron or anywhere else in the West Bank, Gaza or east Jerusalem – except for the Old City of Jerusalem, as it prominently notes on its website:
Safety and SecurityWe are constantly reviewing all security measures and will implement the most stringent security measures throughout your trip to ensure that we provide a comprehensive safety umbrella. View our Safety and Security presentation for a detailed summary of the measures Taglit-Birthright Israel is taking to ensure safety and security on all trips.
These precautions include careful planning of each group's itineraries on a daily basis. Our tours do not travel to or through areas of the West Bank, Gaza or East Jerusalem, other than the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. Throughout each day, itineraries are cleared through the official government authorities which also review all educational field trips for Israeli schools and educational institutions. A GPS (Global Positioning System) is carried by each group so that authorities are aware of each group's location at all times. A group's itinerary will be changed immediately to reflect any heightened risk or security concerns.…
Was this trip to Hebron cleared by Israeli authorities?
Even if it was, that does not excuse the provider or Birthright.
Even so, while I understand Birthright's ban on West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem travel, I think visiting sites like Hebron is important.
But that does not change the fact that the provider knowingly violated Birthright policy and in Birthright's terms endangered the participants on that trip.
Birthright's response should be to immediately suspend that provider to protect the security of future and current participants, investigate, and then penalize it or drop it from the program altogether.
Let's see if Birthright takes its own safety and security policy seriously.
Birthright's Safety and Security policy as a PDF file:
Download Taglit-Birthright Israel: Safety and Security
Index of posts about Birthright Israel and Next.
[Hat Tip: Joel Katz.]
UPDATE 12:05 PM CDT – The Jewish Philanthropy blog is reporting that Birthright says this was a trip run by the Israel Experience, a group that is a subsidiary of the Jewish Agency:
Apparently a group of Chabad Birthright Israel participants from Australia has recently visited Hebron, which according to official policy of the organization is not permitted; “Our tours do not travel to or through areas of the West Bank, Gaza or East Jerusalem, other than the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.”
This video was posted to YouTube last night and since taken down. While we hear Birthright intends to take some undefined action against the trip provider, the organization’s Israel office has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
update 1:13 pm IDT: Taglit-Birthright Israel has issued the following as their official statement:On July 4th, a Taglit-Birthright Israel group from Australia, run by the Israel Experience, visited the Cave of the Patriarchs.
All Taglit-Birthright Israel itineraries are approved by the security authorities, and are updated constantly according to the situation. Our website is updated from time to time accordingly, as well.
But the Israel Experience acts as a trip provider for various groups worldwide, from secular groups and Reform groups to right wing and Chabad groups. Therefore the trip itself is marketed as a trip run by one of those various groups:
About Us
Israel Experience Educational Tourism Services Ltd. is a subsidiary of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) . The company specializes in providing organized trips to Israel for teens, university students and adults from all over the globe. The mandate of the company is to facilitate and implement Jewish-Zionist experiential/ educational visits to Israel in order to strengthen Jewish identity among Jews – especially youth - living in communities outside of Israel.
For 45 years "Israel Experience" programs were run through a division within the Youth & HeChalutz Department, which later merged into the JAFI Education Department . In 1999 a decision was made to form Israel Experience Ltd. as a subsidiary company of the Jewish Agency. This decision was made, in large part, with the client in mind.
Our clients represent communities, movements, organizations and schools from the various streams of Judaism from around the world.
Since its formation, Israel Experience Ltd. has solidified its reputation as a provider of high-quality programming at fair and reasonable prices, backed up by superior logistical services.
Israel Experience Ltd. is committed to developing programs that are "tailor made" to meet the needs and interests of each of its clients. To this end, we pride ourselves in maintaining excellent lines of communication with our clients, working with them in all stages of development, from a program’s inception through its actual implementation.
Our dedicated and experienced staff of professionals looks forward to working with you.
The Israel Experience is a wholesale provider for individual Birthright trips marketed by Jewish groups as varied as Chabad and left wing secular groups. It modifies its trips based on the needs of the individual group.
This means saying the trip is an Israel Experience trip does not identify the actual marketer of that trip, be it Chabad or someone else.
UPDATE 10:10 AM 7-7-10 – In the comments below, Seraphya Berrin points out the trip was not an AUJS trip and links to an Israel Experience Australia page that seems to indicate the trip was, in fact, a Chabad trip.
He also found the Australian Birthright Safety and Security page. Here is a screen shot:
As you can see, it also says trips do not go to the West Bank.
Here is the Australian Safety and Security page as a PDF file:
Download Australian Birthright Safety & Security