This summer I went on a (mostly) free trip to Israel (and went to Eastern Europe afterwards) sponsored by an organization called Taglit-Birthright. If you are Jewish (or even if you aren't--see "who is eligible" below) and 26 or under, this is a good opportunity to get out of the US for a fairly long period of time, get most of your expenses paid for 10 days, and crucially to get a cheap round-trip plane ticket to Tel-Aviv. There is also a whole lot of hooking up on these trips so I thought it was relevant enough to the forum's interests to do a writeup.
PART I: BACKGROUND INFO, ELIGIBILITY, AND HOW TO APPLY
What is Birthright? A one-paragraph summary
Taglit-Birthright is a foundation that sponsors free trips to Israel for Jewish young adults. They pay to fly you to Israel and drive you around Israel in a bus with about 40 other Americans and 5-10 Israeli soldiers for 10 days. You go on tours of cities, nature hikes, camel rides, and other touristy-type activities during the day, and you get shitfaced and bang your fellow birthrighters at night. You can change the date of your return flight to any day up to 3 months after your departure date for around $160. Everything on the 10-day trip is paid for except for lunch every day, booze, tipping the bus driver, and souvenirs (most people spend under $200). You are eligible if you are ages 18-26 and have one or more Jewish parents or are willing to lie and say that you do.
Why should I sign up?
The Israel trip itself is not bad and you will probably bang one of the chicks if you have any game to speak of (I will break it down later in the sheet), but the real benefit is the free plane ticket and the ability to extend the trip for a small fee. Tel-Aviv has a large international airport with frequent, cheap flights to lots of cities in Eastern and Western Europe. I extended my trip by 3 weeks and went to Istanbul, Sofia, and Bucharest for a fraction of what it would have cost to get there from the US. Basically any itinerary involving European countries is possible since you have a 3-month window to schedule your return flight, and you will save a ton of money on flights if you're coming from any region other than Europe. (And if you live in Europe, why not just stay in Israel or go somewhere else in the region?)
Who is eligible and how do I sign up?
The full eligibility rules are here, but the basic gist of it is that you need to be aged 18-26, have at least one Jewish parent or be a recognized member of a Jewish organization like a Synagogue, and can't have lived in Israel for more than 3 months since age 12.
Actually, as a practical matter you don't even need to be Jewish. The questions they ask are very basic and you could easily bullshit your way through them as long as you're not retarded and are willing to lie. I'll leave it up to everyone to make their own ethical judgments and just explain how the process works.
There are two registration periods per year. Registration for the winter session (trips in December and January) starts on September 9th, and registration for the summer session (trips from May-July) starts sometime in mid-February.
To sign up, go to the list of trip organizers. There is a tab called "registration explanation" on the right-hand side of that page that explains everything. Basically, you choose a trip organizer, sign up with them, and they send you an email when registration starts. There is a primary application that is the same across all trip organizers, and a secondary application for each organizer.
Which trip organizer should I pick?
Most of the organizers are pretty similar, based on conversations I've had with other people who have done Birthright trips. You go to most of the same places, stay in most of the same hotels, and do most of the same shit. The main differences seem to be that some trips have a explicitly religious orientation, and some some are more geared toward outdoor activities, hiking, adventure sports, and the like.
As long as you pick one of the secular trip organizers, you'll probably have just as good an experience as any. I personally did the Amazing Israel "Urban Experience" trip, thinking that being an "urban trip" we would get more nights out in Tel-Aviv or Jerusalem than typical trips. This wasn't the case, but for what it's worth they were good, laid-back people who didn't cockblock any of the fairly prominent hooking up that went on, and seemed to actively facilitate it at times (more on that later).
Filling out your application
On the applications, in addition to basic stuff like your name, birthday, passport number, health insurance info, etc. they will ask you some questions about your Jewish heritage and experiences. These are to see if you are eligible to go on the trip. Examples of questions include (paraphrasing):
After you're done filling out the primary and secondary applications, you'll have to schedule a phone interview. Mine was about 5 minutes long, very low-key, and covered most of the same questions that were on the written application. Just have your backstory down, don't say anything to suggest that you're ineligible, and you'll be fine.
Once you get accepted, you pay a $250 deposit that you get back at the end of the trip. You should also schedule your flight extension as soon as you're accepted. You can do this through an organization called Gil Travel.
PART II: OKAY, ENOUGH BULLSHIT ABOUT SIGNING UP. TELL ME ABOUT THE ACTUAL TRIP AND ALL THIS ALLEGED BANGING.
You first meet your group at the airport before your flight out of NYC (all of the flights leave from JFK--you're responsible for getting there on your own if you don't live there). They time most of the flights so that they arrive in Israel early morning (meaning that they leave NYC in the afternoon), then you have a tour of Jaffa/Tel-Aviv all day. So unless you're trying to really hit the ground running and hook up on the plane, I'd advise taking something to help you sleep on the flight.
Your days on the trip consist of getting up early, taking a charter bus to various sites in Israel, dragging your hung-over ass on long guided tours with a cattle call of 40 other kids in hundred-degree weather, and then heading to whatever kibbutz/hotel/campsite you're staying at that night. To give you a flavor of what I mean, here's a sample itinerary:
General comments:
The bad news about this trip is that it's going to be exceedingly difficult to bang anyone outside your tour group. Everything about the logistics fucks you over in this regard. Your whereabouts are tightly regulated at all times, you aren't allowed to leave your hotel/campsite, and even when you go out at night they ferry everyone back onto the bus around 1AM (quite early by Israeli nightlife standards). If you're dead-set on the flag, you could try to hook up with one of the female Israeli soldiers, but most of them tend to have boyfriends, and beyond that seem to be uninterested in hooking up with the Americans. Really the low-hanging fruit here is the American girls in your group. I know this is disappointing because who wants to go halfway around the world to bang an American chick, which is why I said that the real reason to do Birthright is the cheap plane ticket with easy access to Europe. If you're going to stay in Israel after your trip's over, you'll have a few opportunities to wander around to shop for souvenirs which you could theoretically use to day-game and schedule meetups for when your tour's over. The ROI on this strategy seems low, however.
A consolation prize for this unfortunate situation is that banging these American Jewish chicks is really easy. Many of them hook up with the male Israeli soldiers, who are honestly your main competition. Most of the American guys are college-age and early post-college kids who lean toward the nerdier side of things, and few will likely have much of any game to speak of. Despite this, probably a third to half of the dudes were still getting laid, even several who I'm confident don't get a lot of pussy back home. Girls seem to go into the trip with the expectation that everyone will start pairing off sooner or later, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. There was one girl who was about a 6.5 complaining loudly about how everyone was hooking up but her--I thought about trying for a threesome but my girl wouldn't have been down.
Please don't misinterpret the preceding paragraph as me claiming that the situation is some kind of poosy paradise. These are still American chicks with their attendant flaws that I need not rehash here, many of them will not be bangable, and for the few that are 7+ you may need to compete with the Israeli soldiers, some of whom have decent game. Your advantages over a typical American scene are (a) there may be about 1.5 girls for each guy, (b) girls are on vacation and therefore sluttier, © hooking up is more or less unofficially sanctioned by the trip organizers (they won't cockblock you), and (d) the other American dudes are little if any threat. Otherwise, though, don't expect better conditions than you'd find in the US.
Logistics:
I've already covered how the trip's organization cockblocks you with girls from the cities you'll be visiting, but for hooking up with girls in your tour group the setup is close to ideal. People will be hanging out and drinking after dinner pretty much every night, and your accommodations most nights will be splitting a hotel room with 1 or 2 other guys. Just find a roommate who won't be a dick about it if you need to use the room for sex and you're golden. What I did once it became clear that I was gonna be banging the same chick a few nights in a row was room with another dude who had paired off and had our girls room together. Basically if you have lived in a college dorm it's pretty much like that.
The one exception to this is the night you stay in a Bedouin tent in the desert, where you all sleep next to each other under one big tent. However, this is actually an excellent opportunity to go for a notch. Our campsite was vast and had all sorts of hidden nooks and crannies where you could isolate a girl and escalate. You can even take your bed-mats and go over a hill to "stargaze," which will give you complete privacy and cover of darkness. It's not exactly the classiest situation, but hey gotta get that notch.
Cities:
You will get two nights on the trip where you can go to bars and clubs in Israeli cities. Most likely, one will be in Jerusalem and the other will be in Tel-Aviv. As stated previously, the prospects for pulling an Israeli girl are slim because the trip organizers cockblock you by shepherding you back to the hotel early in the night. However, here's what I know about Jerusalem and TLV. Keep in mind this data is very rudimentary and unreliable since I didn't get to do much, although I did have 3 nights on my own in TLV at the end of my trip.
Jerusalem: All the bars and clubs seem to be on Jaffa street, a narrow, graded pedestrian street lined by hookah bars and the occasional club. Thursday-Sunday are decent here from what I've been told, but overall Jerusalem's nightlife sucks and the people lean heavily orthodox.
Tel-Aviv: I don't have much to add that isn't covered better by threads like these. I stayed at Florentine Hostel which gets a strong recommendation (chill vibe, reasonable prices, single private rooms available, good location). One bar that isn't mentioned on there is Kofic on Lilienblum St, which is within walking distance of Florentine Hostel and has beers and spirits for 5 shekels (way cheaper than a typical bar even though they're not full beers). The dive bars on Florentine and Lilienblum streets in general were fun with reasonable talent. I was there after the rocket attacks from Gaza started, though, so I don't know how typical the scene I encountered was--overall the city seemed a little dead, which is understandable given the circumstances.
Conclusion:
Overall I had a very positive experience on the Birthright trip. Even though I've focused on the logistical and game aspects, I don't want to understate the value of the trip itself. Israel is a cool country and you visit a lot of places that are well worth seeing for their own sake. However, the main reason why RVFers should consider applying to go on a trip is because of the opportunity to extend your return flight and hop on a cheap flight over to Eastern Europe. If you don't have the time or resources to do a trip extension, it's probably a better idea to wait for a point when you do, unless you're about to age out of the eligibility window.
I'm happy to field any questions or clarifications. I realize that I've been long-winded here but hopefully the main points are clear enough.
PART I: BACKGROUND INFO, ELIGIBILITY, AND HOW TO APPLY
What is Birthright? A one-paragraph summary
Taglit-Birthright is a foundation that sponsors free trips to Israel for Jewish young adults. They pay to fly you to Israel and drive you around Israel in a bus with about 40 other Americans and 5-10 Israeli soldiers for 10 days. You go on tours of cities, nature hikes, camel rides, and other touristy-type activities during the day, and you get shitfaced and bang your fellow birthrighters at night. You can change the date of your return flight to any day up to 3 months after your departure date for around $160. Everything on the 10-day trip is paid for except for lunch every day, booze, tipping the bus driver, and souvenirs (most people spend under $200). You are eligible if you are ages 18-26 and have one or more Jewish parents or are willing to lie and say that you do.
Why should I sign up?
The Israel trip itself is not bad and you will probably bang one of the chicks if you have any game to speak of (I will break it down later in the sheet), but the real benefit is the free plane ticket and the ability to extend the trip for a small fee. Tel-Aviv has a large international airport with frequent, cheap flights to lots of cities in Eastern and Western Europe. I extended my trip by 3 weeks and went to Istanbul, Sofia, and Bucharest for a fraction of what it would have cost to get there from the US. Basically any itinerary involving European countries is possible since you have a 3-month window to schedule your return flight, and you will save a ton of money on flights if you're coming from any region other than Europe. (And if you live in Europe, why not just stay in Israel or go somewhere else in the region?)
Who is eligible and how do I sign up?
The full eligibility rules are here, but the basic gist of it is that you need to be aged 18-26, have at least one Jewish parent or be a recognized member of a Jewish organization like a Synagogue, and can't have lived in Israel for more than 3 months since age 12.
Actually, as a practical matter you don't even need to be Jewish. The questions they ask are very basic and you could easily bullshit your way through them as long as you're not retarded and are willing to lie. I'll leave it up to everyone to make their own ethical judgments and just explain how the process works.
There are two registration periods per year. Registration for the winter session (trips in December and January) starts on September 9th, and registration for the summer session (trips from May-July) starts sometime in mid-February.
To sign up, go to the list of trip organizers. There is a tab called "registration explanation" on the right-hand side of that page that explains everything. Basically, you choose a trip organizer, sign up with them, and they send you an email when registration starts. There is a primary application that is the same across all trip organizers, and a secondary application for each organizer.
Which trip organizer should I pick?
Most of the organizers are pretty similar, based on conversations I've had with other people who have done Birthright trips. You go to most of the same places, stay in most of the same hotels, and do most of the same shit. The main differences seem to be that some trips have a explicitly religious orientation, and some some are more geared toward outdoor activities, hiking, adventure sports, and the like.
As long as you pick one of the secular trip organizers, you'll probably have just as good an experience as any. I personally did the Amazing Israel "Urban Experience" trip, thinking that being an "urban trip" we would get more nights out in Tel-Aviv or Jerusalem than typical trips. This wasn't the case, but for what it's worth they were good, laid-back people who didn't cockblock any of the fairly prominent hooking up that went on, and seemed to actively facilitate it at times (more on that later).
Filling out your application
On the applications, in addition to basic stuff like your name, birthday, passport number, health insurance info, etc. they will ask you some questions about your Jewish heritage and experiences. These are to see if you are eligible to go on the trip. Examples of questions include (paraphrasing):
- "Is your mother and and/or father Jewish?" Answer yes to at least one if you want to be counted as eligible.
- "Did you have a bar/bat mitzvah?" You are still eligible if you say no, so it's not essential to have this as part of your backstory if you're not Jewish.
- "Do you now or have you ever participated in a synagogue or other Jewish organization?" Again, not necessary for eligibility. However, you could also hypothetically make one up and I'm certain no one would fact-check it. If you're really paranoid, just google a random synagogue in the area where you grew up.
- "What Jewish holidays do you celebrate/How do you observe the high holidays?" Once again, you do not need to be observant in order to be eligible. I am entirely non-religious and made only a token effort to ham it up a little by talking about how we used to light Shabbat candles and how this ritual imparted Jewish values on me blah blah blah. But in general, they're not screening out people who aren't "religious enough," they just want to keep non-Jews out.
- "Have you ever attended a Jewish school or been a member of a Jewish youth organization?" I recommend you answer no to this question. One of the eligibility criteria disqualifies you if you've been a member of certain kinds of Jewish educational programs or organizations. Understand that the purpose of the trip isn't to reward people who are the "most Jewish," but rather to give people with Jewish ancestry an opportunity to experience their cultural heritage.
- Have you ever been to Israel before?" See the eligibility page for the full rules, but in general you're fine if you haven't lived in Israel for more than 3 months since you turned 12.
- "Why do you want to go to Israel on a Taglit-Birthright Israel trip? (e.g., personal reasons, significant story, expectations, etc.)" 200 words max
- "Please describe anything special about your family background related to Judaism or Israel." 200 words max
After you're done filling out the primary and secondary applications, you'll have to schedule a phone interview. Mine was about 5 minutes long, very low-key, and covered most of the same questions that were on the written application. Just have your backstory down, don't say anything to suggest that you're ineligible, and you'll be fine.
Once you get accepted, you pay a $250 deposit that you get back at the end of the trip. You should also schedule your flight extension as soon as you're accepted. You can do this through an organization called Gil Travel.
PART II: OKAY, ENOUGH BULLSHIT ABOUT SIGNING UP. TELL ME ABOUT THE ACTUAL TRIP AND ALL THIS ALLEGED BANGING.
You first meet your group at the airport before your flight out of NYC (all of the flights leave from JFK--you're responsible for getting there on your own if you don't live there). They time most of the flights so that they arrive in Israel early morning (meaning that they leave NYC in the afternoon), then you have a tour of Jaffa/Tel-Aviv all day. So unless you're trying to really hit the ground running and hook up on the plane, I'd advise taking something to help you sleep on the flight.
Your days on the trip consist of getting up early, taking a charter bus to various sites in Israel, dragging your hung-over ass on long guided tours with a cattle call of 40 other kids in hundred-degree weather, and then heading to whatever kibbutz/hotel/campsite you're staying at that night. To give you a flavor of what I mean, here's a sample itinerary:
- Day 1: Flight gets in to TLV. Brief orientation where they tell you you'll get sent home if you get too drunk. Walking tour of Jaffa. Drive to other city for other walking tour. Drive to kibbutz (quasi-commune with hotel-type accommodations). Eat dinner. Mandatory ice-breaker after-dinner activity. Everyone buys literally all the alcohol in the kibbutz and gets shithoused.
- Day 2: Cave tour in northern region. Drive to other city for other walking tour. Drive to hotel, eat dinner, mandatory evening program, get drunk.
- Day 3: Climb a mountain, rafting on the Jordan river, wine tasting, check into kibbutz, dinner, evening program, get drunk.
- Day 4: Israeli soldiers join trip (see below), random art project, drive to Jerusalem hotel, Shabbat dinner, evening program, everyone gets shitfaced on the sly even though they said no drinking on Shabbat.
- Day 5: Shabbat morning session, tour Jerusalem old city, dinner, group goes out drinking in Jerusalem.
- Day 6: Tour of Jerusalem old city again, go to West Bank "security fence," drive to Jerusalem hotel, dinner, evening program, get drunk.
- Day 7: Visit holocaust museum and military cemetery, drive to touristy Bedouin tent in the desert, ride camels, delicious Bedouin dinner, evening program/stargazing, get drunk at bonfire.
- Day 8: Drive to Masada (a mountain), say goodbye to Israeli soldiers, hike to the Dead Sea, float in Dead Sea, drive to hotel, dinner, evening program, get drunk.
- Day 9: Tour of Tel-Aviv, drive to hotel, dinner, go out drinking in Tel-Aviv.
- Day 10: Go to airport hungover, final goodbyes, get on flight to EE.
General comments:
The bad news about this trip is that it's going to be exceedingly difficult to bang anyone outside your tour group. Everything about the logistics fucks you over in this regard. Your whereabouts are tightly regulated at all times, you aren't allowed to leave your hotel/campsite, and even when you go out at night they ferry everyone back onto the bus around 1AM (quite early by Israeli nightlife standards). If you're dead-set on the flag, you could try to hook up with one of the female Israeli soldiers, but most of them tend to have boyfriends, and beyond that seem to be uninterested in hooking up with the Americans. Really the low-hanging fruit here is the American girls in your group. I know this is disappointing because who wants to go halfway around the world to bang an American chick, which is why I said that the real reason to do Birthright is the cheap plane ticket with easy access to Europe. If you're going to stay in Israel after your trip's over, you'll have a few opportunities to wander around to shop for souvenirs which you could theoretically use to day-game and schedule meetups for when your tour's over. The ROI on this strategy seems low, however.
A consolation prize for this unfortunate situation is that banging these American Jewish chicks is really easy. Many of them hook up with the male Israeli soldiers, who are honestly your main competition. Most of the American guys are college-age and early post-college kids who lean toward the nerdier side of things, and few will likely have much of any game to speak of. Despite this, probably a third to half of the dudes were still getting laid, even several who I'm confident don't get a lot of pussy back home. Girls seem to go into the trip with the expectation that everyone will start pairing off sooner or later, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. There was one girl who was about a 6.5 complaining loudly about how everyone was hooking up but her--I thought about trying for a threesome but my girl wouldn't have been down.
Please don't misinterpret the preceding paragraph as me claiming that the situation is some kind of poosy paradise. These are still American chicks with their attendant flaws that I need not rehash here, many of them will not be bangable, and for the few that are 7+ you may need to compete with the Israeli soldiers, some of whom have decent game. Your advantages over a typical American scene are (a) there may be about 1.5 girls for each guy, (b) girls are on vacation and therefore sluttier, © hooking up is more or less unofficially sanctioned by the trip organizers (they won't cockblock you), and (d) the other American dudes are little if any threat. Otherwise, though, don't expect better conditions than you'd find in the US.
Logistics:
I've already covered how the trip's organization cockblocks you with girls from the cities you'll be visiting, but for hooking up with girls in your tour group the setup is close to ideal. People will be hanging out and drinking after dinner pretty much every night, and your accommodations most nights will be splitting a hotel room with 1 or 2 other guys. Just find a roommate who won't be a dick about it if you need to use the room for sex and you're golden. What I did once it became clear that I was gonna be banging the same chick a few nights in a row was room with another dude who had paired off and had our girls room together. Basically if you have lived in a college dorm it's pretty much like that.
The one exception to this is the night you stay in a Bedouin tent in the desert, where you all sleep next to each other under one big tent. However, this is actually an excellent opportunity to go for a notch. Our campsite was vast and had all sorts of hidden nooks and crannies where you could isolate a girl and escalate. You can even take your bed-mats and go over a hill to "stargaze," which will give you complete privacy and cover of darkness. It's not exactly the classiest situation, but hey gotta get that notch.
Cities:
You will get two nights on the trip where you can go to bars and clubs in Israeli cities. Most likely, one will be in Jerusalem and the other will be in Tel-Aviv. As stated previously, the prospects for pulling an Israeli girl are slim because the trip organizers cockblock you by shepherding you back to the hotel early in the night. However, here's what I know about Jerusalem and TLV. Keep in mind this data is very rudimentary and unreliable since I didn't get to do much, although I did have 3 nights on my own in TLV at the end of my trip.
Jerusalem: All the bars and clubs seem to be on Jaffa street, a narrow, graded pedestrian street lined by hookah bars and the occasional club. Thursday-Sunday are decent here from what I've been told, but overall Jerusalem's nightlife sucks and the people lean heavily orthodox.
Tel-Aviv: I don't have much to add that isn't covered better by threads like these. I stayed at Florentine Hostel which gets a strong recommendation (chill vibe, reasonable prices, single private rooms available, good location). One bar that isn't mentioned on there is Kofic on Lilienblum St, which is within walking distance of Florentine Hostel and has beers and spirits for 5 shekels (way cheaper than a typical bar even though they're not full beers). The dive bars on Florentine and Lilienblum streets in general were fun with reasonable talent. I was there after the rocket attacks from Gaza started, though, so I don't know how typical the scene I encountered was--overall the city seemed a little dead, which is understandable given the circumstances.
Conclusion:
Overall I had a very positive experience on the Birthright trip. Even though I've focused on the logistical and game aspects, I don't want to understate the value of the trip itself. Israel is a cool country and you visit a lot of places that are well worth seeing for their own sake. However, the main reason why RVFers should consider applying to go on a trip is because of the opportunity to extend your return flight and hop on a cheap flight over to Eastern Europe. If you don't have the time or resources to do a trip extension, it's probably a better idea to wait for a point when you do, unless you're about to age out of the eligibility window.
I'm happy to field any questions or clarifications. I realize that I've been long-winded here but hopefully the main points are clear enough.
![[Image: lol.gif]](https://rooshvforum.network/images/smilies/new/lol.gif)
