“It was a complete shift in the trajectory of my life. It reinforced my time and energy around the Jewish people,” said Jenn Zussman of Maryland, who was on the inaugural trip in December 1999.
A new study from the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., highlights the impact of Birthright Israel across the generations, revealing how the effects extend beyond participants to their children as opposed to those who applied to the program but did not go.
The study, which tracks long-term outcomes of Birthright participants, found that children of participants are more likely to be raised as Jews, more likely to have had a Jewish circumcision or a baby-naming ceremony, and more likely to be enrolled in formal and informal Jewish education compared to the children of nonparticipants.
Regardless of their partner choice (whether Jewish or non-Jewish), participants are also more likely to raise children who celebrate a bar or bat mitzvah, compared to nonparticipants.