University of Florida Birthright group lands in Israel

(New York, NY) - A group of students from the University of Florida arrived in Israel this Monday, marking the first of many Birthright Campus Trips this year. The contingent is one of 28 student groups arriving this week. A total of 14,000 students from nearly 900 universities and colleges in North America are expected to land in Israel in the coming weeks.

Birthright Campus Trips are a unique opportunity for North American students to go on a life-changing trip to Israel with their college friends and meet new people from their campus. The trips are usually timed to coincide with the school's winter or summer breaks. 

The campus trips are among the first flights in Birthright Israel's long-awaited return after a series of suspensions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This summer Birthright expects to bring about 25,000 young people from around the world, 19,000 of which are from North America.

Colleges with the largest number of Birthright Campus Trip participants include University of Michigan - Ann Arbor (585 students); University of Florida (506 students); and University of Wisconsin – Madison (424 students).

"After a long hiatus, we are excited to bring back so many students from North America to these important and exciting tours to Israel. Many of these students are coming from college and university campuses where incidences of anti-Semitism are increasing, leaving them feeling beleaguered and isolated," said Birthright Israel CEO Gidi Mark. "We know that after going on a Birthright trip, these students feel more supported and prouder," he added.

Birthright Israel offers a free, life-changing trip to Israel for young Jewish adults between the ages of 18 and 32 and, in doing so, transforms the Jewish future. Its mission is to give every Jewish young adult around the world, especially those less connected, the opportunity to visit Israel on an educational trip. Today, Birthright Israel is the largest educational tourism organization in the world that has over 750,000 journeys to the state of Israel.