College Students Get Gift of Trip to Israel

Sandra Firth grew up in a Jewish family, but didn’t attend temple regularly, never had a bat mitzvah and didn’t go to Hebrew school.

“We were very secular, very untraditional,” said Firth, 22, a Cal State Northridge junior.

But in college Firth wanted to learn more about Judaism. So as a Northridge freshman she joined Hillel, the foundation for Jewish campus life. For the last few years she has participated regularly in traditional activities that have helped her get in touch with her Jewish roots.

Soon Firth, and 360 other Jewish young people from throughout California and about 5,000 nationwide, will embark on what she says will be the ultimate Jewish experience: a tour-guided, educational trip to Israel.

The best part, she says, is that the 10-day trip is free.

Nineteen Cal State Northridge students will join Firth on the Jan. 5 mission sponsored by Birthright Israel, a worldwide initiative to provide a first visit to Israel for Jews between the ages of 15 and 26.

Fifteen students from Pierce and Valley colleges also have been selected for a trip and will depart Thursday. Students from Claremont College, Loyola Marymount, UCLA, USC and Whittier College will make the journey before the end of next year.

Birthright Israel will pay all the students’ expenses, including air fare, hotels, meals and guided tours.

“I heard about it in May and I was very surprised that someone was actually offering a free trip to Israel,” said Firth, of Simi Valley. “I was in disbelief when I got picked. Now I’m so excited.”

Birthright Israel was established by Charles Bronfman, co-chairman of Seagram Co., and Michael Steinhardt, a former Wall Street money manager.

Bronfman, Steinhardt and other philanthropists donated a total of $210 million to the project, which in its first year will send 6,000 Jewish people worldwide to Israel.

Sponsors say that visiting Israel will enable young people to absorb Jewish values, history and culture.

“We’re enhancing Jewish identities and connecting these youngsters with a worldwide sense of Jewishhood,” said Michael Papo, executive director of Birthright Israel.

The group spread the word of the free trips by advertising on the Internet and on college campuses throughout the country.

A total of 15,000 applicants signed up for the trips, and a lottery was used to pick many of the 6,000, Papo said.

Colleges and universities were allocated some spots, with directors of Hillel programs left to select students.

At most schools, students filled out applications and were later interviewed by a Hillel committee, which ultimately decided who would make the trip.

“We looked for people not connected with Judaism and not necessarily involved with the Jewish community,” said Lonee Frailich, Cal State Northridge’s Hillel program director. “All are Jewish students who have never been to Israel or were maybe born there and don’t remember anything.”

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Alice Feldman, an 18-year-old Valley College freshman who leaves for Israel on Wednesday. “It will really open my eyes.”

Feldman’s father is from Israel and her paternal grandparents are Orthodox Jews, but she says her family was never very religious.

“We’d go to temple on holidays and stuff, but we weren’t truly religious,” Feldman said.

Others making the trip were a lot more involved with Judaism while growing up, but they say visiting Israel will help them further connect with their roots.