The Biggest Birthright in Texas Hillel History
August 4, 2022
Texas Hillel hosted five buses of Jewish Longhorns as Summer 2022 marked the return of Birthright trips.
After the Birthright Israel experience was essentially put on hold during the pandemic, thousands of students across the country traveled to Israel this summer to connect to the Holy Land. Texas Hillel received an influx of interest as underclassmen and graduating students pined to go on the first trip available since Winter 2019.
Ten Texas staff led five buses, comprising around 120 Jewish Longhorns and several dozen friends from 30 other universities. Some from our great city of San Antonio! The students participated in a range of activities from celebrating Shabbat in Jerusalem to floating in the Dead Sea to exploring the nightlife in Tel Aviv. They had an incredible trip, to say the least!
The best part of the trip, however, is that it didn’t end in Israel. Three of the five buses were composed entirely of underclassmen who are returning to Austin in the fall with a new network of friends.
In the words of rising Junior Ethan Liebnik, “Going on Birthright with Texas Hillel is the best decision I’ve ever made. I couldn’t imagine going to Israel with any other Jew Crew. I had an incredible time there and can’t wait to return to campus and see my Jewish Longhorn friends.”
With the success of this past summer, Texas Hillel is already looking forward to its Winter 2022 trip, and applications are officially OPEN. If you are or know a Jewish student looking to go to Israel through Texas Hillel, reach out to their new and fabulous IACT Coordinator Sade Storthz (sstorthz@texashillel.org).
