TIMES OF ISRAEL
Most Birthright applicants functionally illiterate about Israel
by Amanda Borschel-Dan
November 27, 2015

A new Brandeis University study finds that among surveyed Birthright candidates, over 50% couldn’t correctly answer even half of the basic questions requiring minimal knowledge of the Jewish state…Can you identify the name of the Israeli parliament from among the following: (a) The Bet Din (b) The Kotel (c) The Knesset (d) The Schwarma. Seem like a laugh? Well, according to a recent study, only 60 percent of students about to embark on their free 10-day Birthright-Taglit experience knew the answer…According to the authors, Israel literacy is “the requisite knowledge to participate in productive conversations about Israel.” Dismally, the team found that regardless of their Jewish background and the ranking of their universities, relatively few students are Israel literate. READ MORE