Birthright Israel launches first-ever interactive tour
‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ allows anyone to experience Israel like a Birthright Israel participant for a day
By ALAN ROSENBAUMRussian-speaking young Jews from the Former Soviet Union came together and experienced Israel through Birthright Israel’s ‘Taglit on the Carmel’ event(photo credit: JANE PEIMER)
While Birthright Israel trips are still on hold due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, the organization is launching ‘Choose Your Own Adventure,’ a first-of-its-kind interactive video tour that allows users to make choices that shape the tour in real-time.‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ created on the Eko platform, allows users to choose in real-time which sites in Israel they want to visit. The online tour led by Navee, an actual Israeli guide, enables viewers to choose between a visit to Masada or the Western Wall, eating in an Arabic Bistro or a Vegan restaurant, visiting Birthright’s Tel Aviv Center for Israeli Innovation or a local winery and floating in the Dead Sea or surfing at the beach. In each location, Navee introduces visitors to local Israelis, providing a deeper perspective about Israeli culture. The tour takes about 8 to 10 minutes, and users can repeat it, with different choices each time.Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, Birthright-Israel has postponed all trips since mid-March. “While tens of thousands of Jewish young adults were planned to visit Israel this summer, the organization quickly turned to high-quality, online engagement with its alumni and prospective participants. Since mid-March, we have reached 4.4 million people around the world,” says Noa Bauer, VP of Global Marketing at Birthright. “Today, we invite the thousands of Birthright applicants whose trips were canceled, as well as past and future Birthright participants, their families and loved ones, to take part in a virtual tour of Israel using unprecedented technology.”“The tour is available for every person that wants to get a glimpse of what Israel has to offer, from historic sites to Israeli innovation in a fun, innovative way” says Bauer, “But we are still working relentlessly on making the proper adjustments in creating safe and possible options for Birthright trips to resume, supporting both Israel’s relations with the Diaspora as well as providing massive support and income to Israel’s periphery and tourism industry.”While Birthright was developing the project, Professor Len Saxe of the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University issued a report studying all Birthright applicants whose trips were postponed. The study found that Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the emotional distress of Birthright applicants; At least one in five feel lonely, hampered by emotional difficulties, and that they are not coping well. In addition, about a third are interested in any kind of Jewish online engagement – like the one Birthright is launching today. According to Saxe’s study, 18% of Birthright applicants whose trips were canceled are willing to board a plane to Israel “Right Now.”
