Yonatan at the beach in Israel

Last Saturday night I was walking through the streets of Jerusalem with a bunch of friends, deciding which bar to sit at. The entire area was packed—mostly with energetic, loud and occasionally drunk teens—and I was hard-pressed to find any of them speaking Hebrew. Like every summer, and other select times during the year, the country is swarmed by teens coming from anywhere and everywhere, but mostly from the U.S. They hop on a plane, get this intoxicating injection of “Israel,” see the sights and get the experience—and usually go back feeling some kind of connection, an achievement of sorts, a feeling that they’ve somehow earned the right to call Israel their own.

I have mixed feelings about these groups and their short-lived affairs with Israel, so I decided to ask some of my friends what they think about it. Here are their thoughts:

Zachi, one of my best friends, was born in New Jersey and lived in Canada for awhile before coming to live here when he was 5 years old. “I would encourage the phenomenon of U.S. teens coming in on Israel trips,” he told me. “For some, it’s their only way to connect to their Judaism, and for others it’s the only connection they’ll ever have with Israel.” He went on to say that “Israel is supposed to be the home and refuge of every Jew in the world, and these trips are just another step closer to making that a reality. That’s what the ‘right of return’ is all about—it’s their inherent right; it’s in their blood. Ultimately, this trip to Israel is their ‘entry ticket’ here for the rest of their lives.”

Matan, on the other hand, who has been here for three generations and whose family originates from Iraq, had this to say: “All these Israel-experience groups are an eye sore. They treat our country like an amusement park and leave when they’re done. What have they given to this place? What have they done for our country? They’ve sacrificed nothing, and yet feel as if this place belongs to them.” It might seem a little harsh, but that’s just how he feels.

I felt that my friend Daniella had some good things to say—she worked with a group of Young Judaea teens: “Jewish teen groups like Birthright and others basically divide into two types of people—the first aren’t worth more than the economic boost they give the tourism industry by coming here and spending money; for them the trip is just another notch in their belt and not really that different from their time in Italy or Thailand. The second type really comes because of their connection, because they feel that pull—the experience opens their eyes and they immediately fall in love. For them it’s about their Jewish identity, and though there’s a limit to how much they can understand and internalize what Israel is really about, their attitude is open and positive, and eventually they yearn to come back and understand more.”

I have to agree with her, but there’s a bit of all three opinions in me. I think a lot depends on the attitudes—if someone wants to come to walk around, see the sights and hang out in bars, that's OK. When wondering about what makes me Israeli, I thought of what Matan said and realized this country is all about one thing—sacrifice. Though every Jew is an heir to this land, without sacrifice he hasn’t earned it. I would tell you about Josh from Phoenix or Judah from Boston, who both serve with me in the IDF, but that’s for another time. Suffice it to say that though they seem nothing like Israelis, they’ve earned the right to call Israel their own.

Personally, I love the teen group trips—keep ‘em coming! Get a whiff of this amazing/terrible/beautiful/awful/inspiring place, and whether you come to feel more Jewish or just to blow your mind, as far as I’m concerned, you’re all invited. See ya at the beach!

To hear more from Yonatan, check out the Life in Israel column in JVibe's print magazine. To subscribe, click here.

Yonatan Green, aka Johnny, is settling into his third year with the IDF as a sniper in a Special Forces unit. He does his best to take it easy and go with the flow, though he immensely enjoys a stormy argument about anything at any time. Though his dad is American and his mom is British, he’s lived in Israel his entire life and loves it. Nowadays, in between operations in Nablus and Jenin, his life goal is to pack in as much time as possible at the beach with friends.