ABSTRACT
With strong financial support from the Israeli government and North american Jewish philanthropies, the Birthright Israel gift offers students free trips to visit Israel in order to foster their Jewish identity and connection to Israel. This trip was introduced in the fall of 1999 in an effort to encourage Jewish youth between 15 and 26 to identify with their Jewish heritage and become participants in the greater Jewish community upon returning from Israel. In June 2000, 19 Georgetown University students, along with almost 3,000 other college students from throughout the United States, attended a ten-day Birthright Israel trip organized by Hillel International. This study evaluates the travel experiences of those Georgetown University students through their sentiments, experiences and photographs. This analysis employs an innovative methodology in looking closely at students’ photographs and experiences on the trip. Students were interviewed before, during and after their trip. Six months after returning from Israel, students were asked to describe their travel experience with their photographs. Considering students’ photographs as both data and narrative context in describing travel experiences is central in exploring relationships between identity and place.
