Birthright Unplugged
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Birthright Unplugged was designed as a response to the popular Birthright Israel trips. While Birthright Israel's stated goal is to expose Jews with little or no knowledge of Israel to Israeli society, history, and Zionist philosophy, Birthright Unplugged's goal is to expose people to Palestinian society and its political realities by travelling to Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps. While the trip is designed for North American Jews, it is open to people of all backgrounds[1].
NGO Monitor says that Birthright Unplugged encourages its participants to become Palestinian solidarity activists.[2]
The name "Birthright Unplugged" is a spin on the Birthright Israel program, whose name implies that Jews have a right to national self determination in the land of Israel. The name "unplugged" implies that participants will experience a different version of reality. The organization's runs a second program, Birthright Re-Plugged, which takes Palestinian children on field trips in Israel to see the villages their families left in 1948.
[edit] Controversy
In the summer of 2006 an American college student was dropped from a Birthright Israel tour when officials learned that after participating in their program, she planned to join Birthright Unplugged. Birthright Israel learned about the woman’s plans from her mother, who forwarded them an e-mail in which her daughter detailed her itinerary and explained that if Birthright Israel learned of her plans, she would be dropped from its upcoming trip[3]. Birthright Israel also claims that Birthright Unplugged makes inappropriate and illegal use of their name and is thus considering legal action against Birthright Unplugged [4].
[edit] Criticism
Birthright Unplugged has been criticized for its one-sided presentation of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Critics argue that participants are given little to no context regarding the situation in Israel and the events that led up to the Six Day War and Israel's subsequent occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
