How to get a free trip to Israel

If you have Jewish heritage (one parent) and are between the ages of 18 and 26, you can get a 10 day tour of Israel FOR FREE, including flights, accommodations, and all activities.  A trip like this would cost thousands of dollars not to mention the time and effort of planning.  Follow the simple steps below to apply for your free trip.  I recently secured my trip for February 22^nd, 2012.

Birthright is an organization aimed at introducing young Jewish adults to Israel.  Since 1994, they have sent 250,000 individuals to Israel.  This is a legitimate organization that gets their money through the government of Israel, private philanthropists, and Jewish communities around the world.  Along with Birthright, there are tour operators that organize trips to Israel.  Each operator is different focused on different aspects of learning about Israel and the Jewish faith and heritage.  This trip offers an amazing opportunity to experience a different country and culture with other young adults.

Step 1:  Check the Taglit-Birthright website for the next opening for your Primary Application

The Primary Application opens at specific times throughout the year and only stays open for a couple days.  This is REQUIRED in order to get into Birthright and get your free trip.  I highly recommend setting an alert on your calendar or in your phone for when the application opens (or a time to check back and get a specific date).

The Primary Application asks you for basic information as well as which tour operator you would like for the trip.  The Primary Application will go through an approval process before you can proceed.  You will get email updates.

Step 2: The Secondary Application

Along with the Secondary Application, you will get an email with the dates of the different trips and where they leave from.  You fill out your top three trips.  Sometime after, you will get an email either with an offer for one of the trips which you have to respond to within 48 hours, or you will be wait-listed.

If you get the offer, respond to it ASAP by replying to the email.  If you get wait-listed, you could revise your application for another trip that has more spots or wait to see if they open more trips (which was the case for me).

Step 3:  Interview

After you get the trip offer and accept it, you will get a call from Birthright asking you some standard questions about your heritage and involvement with the Jewish faith.  After answering the questions honestly (you want to answer honestly or you may have to pay for the whole trip), you will either be eligible or ineligible.  If you are eligible, congratulations!  You now have your free trip 10 day trip to Israel.  You can even extend your trip by pushing your flight home back and staying longer than 10 days (on your own dime, except for the flight back)!

Overall, the process was pretty simple and straightforward.  The websites were a little confusing, but completely worth the couple hours I put into the application for a free trip worth thousands of dollars.  I’m very excited for my trip and I will be blogging about it.

If you would have any questions or would like to add your experiences with Birthright, please comment below!

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