The Jewish Telegraph caught up this week with British students and young professionals who hail from northern Jewish communities in England and Scotland.  Touring Israel on a 10-day program with Birthright, the students attended a seminar organized by Givat Haviva, a peace education campus in the Wadi Ara region and are shown whilst taking in a view over the West Bank from Katzir on the Amir Mountain range and the village of Barta’a down below.

In the picture, but not in order, are northerners Oliver Cram and Andrew Berg (Glasgow), Jordan Miller-Jones (Liverpool) Julia and Maeve Cohen (Newcastle), Alice Burnett, Katie Kremer, Samara Bott and Paul Lewis (Leeds) and Andy Shaffer, Laura Godfrey (Manchester).

One quarter of the 80 British students and young professionals, all of who spent time at Givat Haviva, currently touring Israel on a 10-day Birthright.Israel tour are from the northern Jewish communities and many of the southerners studying at universities in Manchester and Leeds.

“This is the 5th year that young British Jews have been participating in the Birthright program and with 80 students and young professions currently in the country this is the largest number we have sent so far,” Josh Salter, Program Coordinator of UJIA Birthright told Givat Haviva informal educator and Jewish Telegraph correspondent Lydia Aisenberg who worked with the students on campus and led a tour of the Wadi Ara region.

Half of the young Birthright participants are students and the other half, young professionals already beginning to climb the career ladder.  The Union of Jewish Students worked together with the UJIA to organize the two groups, students and young professionals being mixed together on the two tour buses traveling in tandem.

“We had a much larger demand than places available this year,” said Josh Salter.

UJIA Birthright are hoping to increase funding so as to give all suitable applicants the chance to participate in the much sought after program bringing young Jews from all over the world to visit Israel and get to know other Jewish youth from their own and different countries whilst also developing a relationship with Israel.

Published in the July 4 edition of the Jewish Telegraph, UK