Mifgash tells the story of Hillel Bus 740 on their ten-day Taglit-Birthright Israel trip, highlighting the challenging, enlightening, and ultimately life changing moments as these participants question, reflect, and grapple with their own Jewish identity. Participants share their hopes and concerns as they explore the Golan Heights, climb Masada, float in the Dead Sea, excavate ancient ruins, ride camels, and spend Shabbat in Jerusalem. Half way into the trip, Israeli soldiers join their Diaspora peers and they learn from each other about what it means to be Jewish today...and what this means for the future of the Jewish people.—Anonymous
In ten years, Taglit-Birthright Israel has brought over 250,000 participants on a free ten-day tour of Israel. These participants are representative of the American Jewish community; largely disconnected with organized Jewish life. But, their Israel experience is changing their outlook, and the fate of the Jewish people.
Mifgash: Encountering Jewish Identity in the 21st Century tells the story of Hillel Bus 740 on their ten-day Taglit-Birthright Israel trip and highlights the challenging, enlightening, and ultimately life changing moments as the participants question, reflect, and grapple with their own Jewish identity.
Participants share their hopes and concerns for their experience as they explore to the Golan Heights, climb Masada, float in the Dead Sea, excavate ancient ruins, ride camels, and spend Shabbat in Jerusalem. Half way into the trip, eight Israeli soldiers join their Diaspora peers in order for them to learn from each other about what it means to be Jewish today...and what this means for the future of the Jewish people.
The film also explores Israeli Knesset Member Yossi Beilin's initial "birthright" idea to bridge the gap between Israeli and Diaspora Jews, and why co-founding philanthropists Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt embraced it and pushed it forward against the grain of established Jewish community.
The film features key interviews with philanthropists Charles Bronfman, Michael Steinhardt, and Lynn Shusterman; Combined Jewish Philanthropies President Barry Shrage and Associate Vice-President of Israel and Education Cheryl Aronson; Taglit-Birthright Israel CEO Gidi Mark; former Israeli Minster of Diaspora Affairs Isaac Herzog and former Senior Knesset Member Yossi Beilin; and the Director of the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies Len Saxe.
