<p>My two are leaving in a few days for a Birthright trip. Their tour organizer sent out an email addressing concerns. Trips will go on as scheduled. They go nowhere near the southern areas where Hamas rockets might reach. Suicide bombers have not been a problem in recent years. Public transport is not utilized, which has historically been the biggest threat. Crowded areas are avoided. My Ds have access to free cell phones, which they will get and use. The Birthright organization is very good about communication with parents. No one in the years they have been doing Birthright tours has been injured by terrorists-other things, well, no word. So I feel reassured. </p>
<p>I have some mixed feelings about any country being so aggressive militarily-but I’m a citizen of such a country myself! </p>
<p>Yesterday I was more undone about them driving icy roads to visit relatives in Illinois. Or walking to our downtown area at night on the ice. The drinking on college campuses scares me, a lot, as it is a significant short as well as long term health risk. </p>
<p>Regarding Bangkok, my family there says life, even with the airports occupied went on as usual. Getting out of the country was problematic, but as far as I know, no tourists were hurt in the occupations. </p>
<p>We all have different perceptions of risk. Different fears to address.</p>
<p>Although D will go with Birthright transportation, she is planning to stay an addition 1 1/2 months to study- I think in Jerusalem. She will be out of the Birthright “cocoon”, and I suspect use public transportation etc. She certainly has street smarts; she goes to school in a major city and lived in a city away from home for 2 years, but terrorism transcends street smarts.</p>
<p>Terrorism transcends street smarts but so does most violent crime. </p>
<p>My approach to life is to be aware but to not hem myself in by fear. Even when my husband was in Iraq, I had to chose, sometimes several times a day, to acknowledge the danger of the situation and then let it go. </p>
<p>I’m not saying I would go to an area under rocket attack but I would go to other parts of that country. And I would let my child do the same.</p>
<p>Niece is leaving on a Birthright trip tomorrow (Wednesday 4 PM).She checked and trip is on. Are older groups treated differently with less security/oversight? She’s 25 and the three friends she is going with are similarly aged as is the group as a whole (post college aged).</p>
<p>I learn so much form lurking on this board! I had never even heard of Birthright but it sounds like something my son would like to do. I have a question, though. Do you have to prove you are Jewish? I know it says one of your parents has to be Jewish to qualify and since I am, that shouldn’t be a problem. But is there some kind of “proof” you need or is it just based on what you say?</p>
<p>I just want to reiterate or clarify what I wrote earlier. I FULLY support going on Birthright trips and would let my kids go. As I said, two of my nieces have gone and one of them is there now. These trips have very tight security. However, my niece’s birthright trip has ended and she stayed on with a friend to travel in Israel for a month on their own. Again, I support that too as we can’t stop living our lives. However, I happen to draw the line when an area is either under attack, in a conflict, has a major uprising going on, etc. Right now, that is the case in Israel. While there were risks before this, I would have been fine with it. But now the risks are greater. Today, rockets reached further into Israel. We each do what is comfortable but I don’t think it implies that we have stopped living or disallow travel to far away lands if we avoid particular areas in the midst of a confict. My own kids have traveled a lot and in particular, my 22 year old has gone to many countries by herself. She is about to leave for Cambodia and Laos. I saw no need to fly through Bangkok given the situation there (she was making her reservations when the airports there were overtaken). That doesn’t mean under normal circumstances, I would be against going there, however. I spoke to my brother and he is trying to convince his daughter to come home from her trip (again, the Birthright part of it is already over). Birthright travels in a more secure fashion than one might be able to do on one’s own. The situation in Israel is not in its regular state at the moment and I think it is quite justifiable to not want a young girl traveling where the country is under attack (even though it is not 100% safe at any time, the risk at the moment is greater).</p>
<p>Two years ago, the night before my then college soph daughter was about to fly to Rio de Janeiro on a college trip, there was a lot of violence going on in that city and the State Dept. posted warnings for Americans going there and the college at the very last minute, changed which city in Brazil they would take the trip to. I supported their change of plans given the circumstances, even if before that nothing was risk free. But the risks were greater during that particular period of time for tourists.</p>
<p>My son did Birthright last April and had a great time. He never said that he felt suffocated. You don’t have to prove being Jewish – how can you really since they let anyone go regardless of an affiliation with a synagogue. They do ask questions and so forth but I think that’s the extent of it.</p>
<p>"just"aMom - your D’s letter was lovely. My friend had 2 kids on a similar trip the summer of 2006. When the war with Lebanon started, the organization (can’t remember which one) held a conference call with parents, explained the stepped-up security efforts and new itinerary, and gave families the option to bring their kids home. I think most stayed. The itinerary had included time spent in the north, but they were rerouted further south to an area where Israeli evacuees were living. The teens spent time entertaining/playing with evacuee children. </p>
<p>My own D was in Israel summer 2007 and we were there as a family this time last year. In both cases the security measures were excellent. I guess my point is that these organizations knew what they are doing to keep us and our kids out of harms way. That said, I would pay attention to any new State Dept travel advisory. soozievt - I would share your concern about your niece traveling alone in Israel right now.</p>
<p>As far as proving one is Jewish, this is what my sons told me after their trips last December and January. There is an interview once students sign up but no real proof is required. At the airport in New York, there are questions asked by Israeli authorities (I don’t know if they are government authorities, or airline authorities). The questions are similar to these: Did you have a bar/bat mitzvah, what synagogue or temple do you go to, what holidays do you celebrate? Basic questions. They also told two students in line to switch passports, as a test of the officials checking passports. I don’t think the questioning is to check if those traveling are really Jewish as much as to weed out those who are trying to enter with less than good intentions.</p>
<p>Hmm well S did not have a Bar Mitzvah, we don’t go to temple and don’t celebrate holidays but for a cursory light the menorah along side the Xmas tree. I wonder if he would get past the interview stage…</p>
<p>My two also went on Birthright trips which were fantastic experiences. (I only wish they had free Birthright trips for parents!) It is true that there is “never a good time” but my kids both felt perfectly safe and not suffocated at all. That being said, I’d be reluctant to let my child stay on alone after a Birthright trip at this time.</p>
<p>I just got back from Israel last week. I went with Birthright and had an amazing time. I honestly felt safe the entire time I was on the trip. There was a pretty horrific bus crash the second day of my trip (not a Birthright group) that scared me a lot more safety-wise than any terrorism concerns. We were in the southern part of Israel a lot. We could see some of the more dangerous areas (e.g. the West Bank), but obviously were not allowed in them. Security is pretty tight on the trip, but I didn’t find it to be “suffocating.”</p>
<p>Israel is an amazing country and Birthright is a fantastic opportunity to experience it. I really would encourage you not to let your daughter miss out on it.</p>
<p>He’ll be fine. You do more than some of my friends who’ve gone on Birthright.
My Jewish friends have always told me that it’s easy to get through the birthright screening process even if you don’t practice too much–my roommate this semester had also not had a bar mitzvah (and doesn’t practice) and went this past Spring. I’ve been tempted to try to get past the screeners, but with a last name of Salvador and a mom names Natividad Angeles…I don’t think I’d have much luck.</p>
<p>That’s being said, I have one friend who’s been studying abroad in Israel this past semester, one who just left two days ago to do a short program there, and one friend going on Birthright in about two weeks. Neither seem to be too worried about it (one of my friends is staying on a military base…which could be a good and bad thing I guess)–I’m told the programs take real good care of the students.</p>
<p>The screening process is done mostly on an Honors system. I’ve heard of non-Jewish people going on the trip. They don’t ask you for actual written proof that you come from a Jewish family.</p>
<p>There was a trip for parents in honor of Israel’s 60th birthday. Children who had gone on Birthright sent in videos and winners were picked. I don’t know how many were selected, but it was also free for winning parents.</p>
<p>As a parent, I completely understand the stress and anxiety about letting one’s child go to Israel right now. It’s just the nature of being a parent. I think the worry is natural and understandable. And I hate it. </p>
<p>What has helped me hugely is when faced with worries, is to look at the actually probability of my fears being realized. I try to make a decision based on the statistics rather than feelings when it means good experiences for my child. </p>
<p>There are currently about 8,000,000 people in Israel. Suppose that, coincidentally, more people were killed from terrorist attacks in Israel during the particular weeks your child is in Israel, than those who have die from terrorist attacks in TOTAL for the past 8 years (542), the odds your child is a victim is 542/8,000,001 = .00007. </p>
<p>For some perspective, the odds of dying last year in the US in an auto accident were 31,000/305,000,000 = .00010. And the odds of being murdered in NYC in 2008 was 501/8,000,000 = .00006.</p>
<p>OK, I’m a chicken. I understand all the statistics, but I still wouldn’t want any loved one of mine travelling to a country that is under rocket attack, and is surrounded by neighbors that want to drive it into the sea. </p>
<p>I can’t protect my kids from every danger. I know they’re at risk every time they get into a car. (OK, lets be honest, my daughter broke her foot when she fell down the stairs in a friend’s basement, so I guess she wasn’t “safe” there either). But certain risks we take to carry on our everyday lives, while others are risks that we can choose to take on or to avoid. I’d have to evaluate very carefully whether that risk is worth taking. Example - DS & DH absolutely LOVE skiing. I know it is a risky sport. They wear helmets, which reduce their risk but doesn’t eliminate it. The joy they get from skiing makes it worth the risk. </p>
<p>I’m reminded of a young man in my state a few years ago. He drove to the Air Force base to say goodbye to his friends who were flying out to Iraq. He was killed in a car wreck driving home, before his friends even landed in Iraq. That doesn’t mean I’d prefer my son to be going to Iraq instead of driving on the Mass Pike. </p>
<p>I guess if the trip is something really meaningful for your child, that’s one thing. But if it’s an experience that could be replicated elsewhere (like an internship at a medical facility or something similar), then I’d find a relatively “safer” place.</p>