nation / world
Philanthropists Call on Jewish Community to Increase
Investment in Birthright
Following the recent announcement that budget cuts will cause Birthright
Israel to cut up to one-third of its trip participants in 2023 and beyond, the
leading philanthropic supporters of the program on Nov. 29 called upon Jews
and Jewish organizations worldwide to become “fellow investors” in the orga-
nization that provides free 10-day trips to Israel for Jewish young adults, JNS.

org reported.

“We are creating space for others to commit, to re-commit or to increase their
commitment. Birthright is not an Adelson family investment. It is an invest-
ment in us all, in our collective, communal future,” said Dr. Miriam Adelson,
who, along with her late husband Sheldon Adelson, through the Adelson Family
Foundation, has contributed nearly $500 million to Birthright during the past
15 years.

Adelson and Charles Bronfman addressed the Birthright Israel Foundation’s
board meeting via video conference after Birthright announced last week that due
to inflation and rising travel expenses that have increased the per-person cost of
the experience to $4,500. The organization is “now seeking contributions from
the wider American-Jewish community to maintain the organization’s provision
of the critical program.”
American Jews who attend Birthright trips are 160% more likely to have a
spouse who is Jewish, according to a recently published analysis by the Cohen
Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University.

Jewish Passengers Booted Off Lufthansa Flight in May Are
Getting $20,000 Payouts
Nearly seven months after they were denied boarding in Frankfurt, a group of
more than 100 Chasidic Lufthansa passengers are getting paid for their troubles,
JTA.org reported.

The airline is paying each passenger $20,000 plus giving them $1,000 to reim-
burse them for expenses incurred during the May incident, according to Dan’s
Deals, the discount travel website that first reported the incident at the time.

After legal fees and some other expenses, each passenger will net approximately
$17,400, the site is reporting.

Lufthansa would not confirm the dollar figures but said that it is seeking to set-
tle with each of the affected passengers, capping a series of conciliatory responses
to the incident.

On May 4, airline agents in Frankfurt barred many Jewish travelers coming
from New York City from boarding their connecting flight to Budapest, citing the
fact that some of the passengers were not wearing masks, as was required at the
time. But that rule was applied inconsistently, passengers said at the time, and a
Lufthansa supervisor was caught on video speaking disparagingly about Jewish
passengers as a group.

Global Index: Tel Aviv Drops From First to Third-most
Expensive City
Tel Aviv is no longer the most expensive city in the world, dropping from first
place last year to third in the 2022 Worldwide Cost of Living Index, released on
Nov. 30 by the Economist Intelligence Unit, JNS.org reported.

New York City and Singapore shared the top spot, with Hong Kong and
Los Angeles tying for fourth place. Zurich, Geneva, San Francisco, Paris and
Copenhagen placed five through 10, respectively.

The index is compiled by comparing prices in U.S. dollars for goods and ser-
vices in 172 major cities around the world, with data showing that average cost of
living in those places jumping by 8.1% compared to 2021.

“The war in Ukraine, Western sanctions on Russia and China’s zero-Covid pol-
icies have caused supply-chain problems that, combined with rising interest rates
and exchange-rate shifts, have resulted in a cost-of-living crisis across the world,”
Upasana Dutt, head of worldwide cost of living at EIU, said in a statement. JE
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
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