Pledge to #BreakUpWithBirthright: It's time for a New Jewish Future

The Pledge:

I refuse to go on Birthright, and I will discourage my friends from going on Birthright. Our generation believes in freedom and dignity for all — Birthright does not.

Birthright cannot run its trips without us. For years, Birthright has tried to convince thousands of Young Jews that our Jewishness is bound up in supporting endless occupation. When we come together and reject Birthright’s vision, we are creating a new Jewish future — one that supports freedom and dignity for all.

Our Call to Action:

FOR YOUNG AMERICAN JEWS, GOING ON A BIRTHRIGHT TRIP HAS BECOME A RITE OF PASSAGE.

Birthright markets itself as an apolitical gift, but we know it’s actually a bribe, one that’s intended to buy our support for the occupation. The majority of Birthright's money comes directly from the Israeli government, and far-right American donors like Sheldon Adelson pick up the rest.

They do not pay for the trips out of the goodness of their hearts.

Birthright, its right-wing donors, and the Israeli government see our generation as a tool to whitewash their racist and violent agenda. By design, Birthright hides the occupation, a system of violence and separation by which Israel’s government denies Palestinians their civil, political, and economic rights. They want us to experience Israel as a fantasy-land, so we can go home and become foot-soldiers in their fight to defend the occupation from international criticism and consequences.

Israel just elected its most extreme right-wing government ever, and Prime Minister Netanyahu has vowed to annex the West Bank. The Israeli government is escalating the Occupation at a terrifying pace, and Birthright is still standing by its side.

Birthright seeks to tie our Jewish identities and the Jewish future to unquestioning support for Israeli policies: this is its explicit goal.

But it doesn’t have to be this way — it’s time to break up with Birthright. It's time for a #NewJewishFuture.

For over a year, we have asked for simple changes in Birthright’s programming. And Birthright has refused to do even the bare minimum. Instead, they tried to censor us and even kicked us off their trips for asking questions.

We call on every American Jew — those who have gone on Birthright, those who haven’t and those who have known for years that they would never go —  to sign the Pledge to #BreakUpWithBirthright. Signing the pledge means refusing to go on Birthright and discouraging your friends from going on Birthright.

Birthright needs us to run its trips. When thousands of us come together to reject the bribe, Birthright will be forced to answer to us or become irrelevant. We are coming together as a generation to take the Jewish future into our own hands.

The first Birthright trip took young American Jews to Israel in 1999, so at 20 years old, Birthright is younger than most of the people who go on it. The Jewish community thrived before Birthright; it will continue to thrive after it.

It’s time to opt out of Birthright’s right-wing political agenda and opt into a new Jewish future that stands against the Occupation and for freedom and dignity for all.

The New Jewish Future means taking control of our community away from those who seek to defend the indefensible.

The New Jewish Future means choosing a Jewish identity that is authentic and rooted in our culture and our values.

The New Jewish Future means choosing the Jewish moral tradition of asking questions, standing up against oppressors, and fighting for what’s right.

The New Jewish Future means building an authentic, thriving, joyous, liberated Jewish community that confronts injustice rather than hides from it.

Let’s build the #NewJewishFuture, together.

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Sign the Pledge for the #NewJewishFuture now.

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IfNotNow Movement