editorials
The Birthright Imperative
I t’s hard to think of today’s Jewish world without
Birthright Israel.

Sending groups of young Jews to Israel for
10 days at no cost to them and letting the
country work its magic on their Jewish iden-
tities seems like such a no-brainer that it can
be a surprise to learn that Birthright has only
been around since 1999. The consensus, and
we share it, is that Birthright Israel is one of
the most successful Jewish innovations of our
time. One way to judge how central Birthright
has become to our North American Jewish
core is by the howls that went up when it was
learned that the Adelson Family Foundation
was cutting back on its annual contribution.

Since 2007, the Adelson Foundation has been
the largest donor to Birthright, having contributed
nearly $500 million over the past 15 years. The
announcement that the foundation would reduce
its annual gift to $20 million this year and to $10
million next year was quickly followed by the
announcement that Birthright was scaling back its
operations by up to a third. Before the pandemic,
Birthright was taking 45,000 participants to Israel
every year. Next year, only 23,000 participants are
projected. Birthright officials acknowledge that the reduc-
tion in the Adelson Foundation gift is not a sur-
prise. It has been in the works since 2016. Yet for
whatever reason, Birthright has not been able to
secure supplemental funding to make up for the
shortfall they knew was coming. Instead, they
cut back on the program. That is unfortunate. But
perhaps this is the wake-up call needed to remind
us of the importance of the program and to make
clear why no one should take it for granted.

Last month, researchers at the Cohen Center
for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University
reported that in comparing Jews who had taken
a Birthright trip with Jews who had never been
to Israel, Birthright participants were 85% more
likely to be “somewhat/very” attached to Israel
and 160% more likely to have a spouse who is
Jewish. Those statistics are compelling.

We urge efforts to expand communal and
institutional support for Birthright. To be sure,
despite the widespread belief that Birthright is
funded by a few very wealthy Jews, the Birthright
Foundation currently has nearly 40,000 annual
donors. The Israeli government provides a large
portion of Birthright’s estimated $150 million
annual budget. And according to the 2018
annual report — the most recent available — 17
donors gave $1 million or more.

We recognize that there are aspects of the
Birthright program that give some donors pause.

For example, critics aren’t happy with how the
program deals with the Israeli-Palestinian con-
flict. Still, even with its warts, Birthright is doing
exactly what it was created to do and what the
Jewish world has come to expect. Indeed, because
of its success, Birthright has become an essential
Jewish rite of passage almost on par with bar and
bat mitzvahs.

Birthright deserves meaningfully expanded com-
munal support. JE
I t began with a noble purpose. Some solution
needed to be found to address the effects of too
many years of discrimination against minorities in
the college admissions process, as well as for those
seeking employment.

Among the approaches developed was a
race-conscious college-admission policy that
allowed for consideration of a student’s race as
one of many factors in the admissions process.

That approach, called “affirmative action,” was
promoted as a means to address historic discrimi-
nation against Black applicants and to help create
a diverse student body at participating universities.

It was further argued that the inclusive educational
environment fostered by affirmative action would
enrich the educational experiences of all students
at participating universities.

The affirmative action program has prompted
decades of court battles over its legality. For the
past 50 years, affirmative action has been part of
American life and was repeatedly upheld by the
U.S. Supreme Court. But with today’s 6-3 conserva-
tive majority on the court, that is likely to change.

In late October, the Supreme Court heard argu-
12 DECEMBER 8, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
ment in a pair of lawsuits — one against Harvard
University and the other against the University of
North Carolina — on whether colleges and univer-
sities can consider race when they decide which
applicants to admit. Most court watchers agree that
the court will almost certainly rule that affirmative
action in college admissions is illegal, probably
because the practice violates the Constitution’s
guarantee of equal protection of the laws and the
1964 Civil Rights Act’s prohibition of racial discrim-
ination by recipients of federal funding.

The reasoning is straightforward: Notwithstanding
whatever positive motivations may be driving the
process, discrimination on the basis of race should
not be used as the means to correct past discrim-
ination on the basis of race. In other words, two
wrongs don’t make a right.

But if universities can’t use affirmative action,
then how can they work to level the playing field
for minority and disadvantaged applicants, and con-
tinue their commitment to creating a diverse cam-
pus community? At least two suggested approaches
have been advanced — both of which will likely test
the sincerity of a university’s embrace of diversity
over fundamental financial concerns.

First, universities can increase their efforts to
promote the admission of economically disadvan-
taged students, irrespective of their race or any
other prohibited, discriminatory factor. Given the
wealth gap that separates Black and white house-
holds, an increase in the recruitment of economi-
cally disadvantaged students will almost certainly
help boost campus diversity. Similarly, doing away
with “legacy” preferences in university admissions
for children of alumni and significant donors will
also open more spaces for Black applicants and
further add to each university’s diversity pool.

The problem is that most bottom-line-conscious
universities are not willing to give up the financial
bounty of legacy student tuitions and historical
donor gifts. And given tight budgets and increasing
costs, most universities are reluctant to increase
allocations for financial assistance in order to
achieve desired diversity. But if the court rules as
expected, universities are going to have to find
some race-neutral solution to their admissions
challenges, and they may have to put some of their
money where they say their values are. JE
flickr.com / HRYMX
Alternatives to Affirmative Action



opinion
City’s Palestinian Event an Affront
to Area Jews
By Steve Feldman
A s any coach, athlete or sports enthusiast knows,
if one is not even on the playing field, there is no
chance of winning. Even if one’s opponent falls flat on
their faces, the best one can hope for is a tie if you are
not at least present.

Philadelphia’s government hosted an event and
issued a proclamation on Nov. 29 that places the
city as a participant in an international obser-
vance created to delegitimize Israel and Jewish
rights. Philadelphia also endorsed Arab violence
against Jews via a promotional poster that featured
three clenched fists and three Palestine Liberation
Organization flags.

The event, proclamation, remarks by a City
Council member at the event and the bellicose
poster serve as reminders that the Jewish commu-
nity and supporters of Israel need to challenge our
enemies and their enablers — to be on the meta-
phorical playing field — although it is no game.

Today for Jews in America. physical and emo-
tional well-being are jeopardized; the ability to
freely observe our religion is at stake in some
cases, as is our right to freedom of speech/expres-
sion such as in support of Israel and Zionism.

Rampant attacks against Jews and Jewish institu-
tions, and the incessant incitement of hatred and
resentment against Jews have gotten us to this
juncture. Our future here rests on what the Jewish
People and our friends and allies do in response to
the attacks and intimidation, as well as proactively.

Jewish persons today in America who wear garb
or a symbol that easily identifies that person as
Jewish are being violently attacked; many are afraid
to hold an Israeli flag or wear an “I support Israel”
shirt or hat — Jewish or not — for fear of attack;
synagogues, other Jewish institutions and Jewish
events require unprecedented security. Those who
are determined to harm Jews have been embold-
ened. They are emboldened by celebrities who sow
resentment and hatred of us.

They are emboldened by elected and appointed
officials, politicians and political operatives.

They are emboldened by news media in its var-
ious forms.

They are emboldened by religious leaders.

They are emboldened by social media “influenc-
ers” and prominent podcasters.

They are emboldened even by some within the
very Jewish community that is under attack who
aid and collaborate with those harming us.

In proclaiming
“International Day of
Solidarity With the
Palestinian People,”
in Philadelphia, Mayor
Jim Kenney and other
city officials committed
an atrocity against
the Jewish people.

And they are emboldened by our community’s
weakness, indifference, apathy and fear.

It is true that to stop the attacks and incitement
we need more, and more-diverse tools than there
are in a typical Swiss Army knife, and each of these
tools must be utilized — both the quiet, behind-
the-scenes tools and the public tools activists have
employed for generations.

In proclaiming “International Day of Solidarity
With the Palestinian People,” in Philadelphia, Mayor
Jim Kenney and other city officials committed an
atrocity against the Jewish people by echoing a
dastardly United Nations-led expression of regret
that Israel was re-established and that Jews finally
again had self-determination in our homeland.

The city claimed it was not political. But the
violence-themed posters and Yasser Arafat’s blood-
drenched PLO flags contradicted officials. As one
communal leader from another organization put it:
“It looks like Philadelphia is calling for jihad.” The
poster included the imprimaturs of Kenney’s office
of the city representative and his department of
immigrant affairs.

Officials claimed the purpose of the event was
“to celebrate the rich and significant contributions
Palestinian community has made to our beautiful
city” — but they could have done that on any date.

Nov. 29 is significant. It is a date that Jews have
celebrated since 1947 thanks to the United Nations
partition plan vote paving the way for a Jewish
state on land where Jews are the indigenous peo-
ple. Arabs and Muslims see that date from a different
perspective: Many refuse to accept an independent
Jewish state in the Middle East and reject Jewish
self-determination. On the 30th anniversary, Nov.

29, 1977, the United Nations voted to in essence
reject the Jewish state and Jewish indigenousness.

Thus: The date and the poster and the presence of
PLO flags are indeed political.

The city had a public ceremony outside of the
city’s Municipal Services Building across from City
Hall on Nov. 29.

For the second consecutive year.

Last year, Israel’s consul general pleaded with
Kenney to cancel the event or at minimum not
to speak at the event. Kenney ignored him. Local
Jewish communal leaders including those from
the Zionist Organization of America’s Greater
Philadelphia Chapter reached out to Kenney and
his staff to express concern about a second event.

Concerns and pleas to cancel it were again ignored.

Greater Philadelphia ZOA took an additional
different path: We showed up at the event at noon
on Nov. 29, and we stood tall, proudly waving our
American and Israeli flags, and some of those who
participated in our protest vigil also displayed signs
in support of Israel and our people’s rights.

Greater Philadelphia ZOA and our activists, and
others who joined us went onto the playing field.

We showed up; we showed that the Jewish peo-
ple will always be there in support of the Jewish
state of Israel, our right to self-determination and
in defense of our heritage and history. If the city
opts to do this again, we will be there again — and
we invite all of the Jewish community, all of the
pro-Israel community and all decent people to be
there with us.

Meanwhile: Philadelphia has not had an event to
celebrate its Jewish immigrants, nor has it had an
event to specifically honor its Israeli immigrants. JE
Steve Feldman is the executive director of the Greater
Philadelphia Chapter of the Zionist Organization of
America. Letters should be related to articles that have run
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edited for space and clarity prior to publication. Please
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