Are you Jewish? Between the ages of 18 and 26? Never been on an organized trip to Israel? Santa Cruz Hillel offers the best way for you to have the time of your life in Israel - FOR FREE! Travel with other Santa Cruz students for FREE on a 10-day trip to Israel all the while making friends from across the country.

Our Birthright trips through Israel Outdoors provide an amazing introduction to not only the land of Israel, but the people residing there as well. Taglit-Birthright Israel's founders created this program in order to send thousands of young, jewish adults from all over the world to the Jewish state. They did this in order to diminish the growing division between Israel and the Jewish communities around the world; to strength then sense of solidarity among world Jewry; and to strengthen participants' personal Jewish identity and connection to the Jewish people and it's state.​

Trip Details

Santa Cruz Hillel campus professionals staff each trip. This is beneficial because not only do they get to know participants before the trip, but also return to campus with them after their Israel experience for follow-up activities and programming. A trip to Israel doesn't have to end when you get back on your plane.


The Israeli tour educators are the best in their profession. They all speak English fluently and will make Israel come alive for participants. The trip is open to all, with absolutely no agenda about religion. Birthright helps you get a taste of Israel through meaningful facets, whether faith, culture, or even politics.


Taglit-Birthright trips are an amazing way to see Israel as participants not only get to travel all of Israel geographically, but also immerse themselves in the nightlife and culture that is not covered on network news. Participants will learn about Israel from Israeli peers, tour educators, and through their own eyes.
​

On Shabbat, the trip focuses on taking a break from the fast-paced regular itinerary. Shabbat is celebrated in a pluralistic manner, allowing for many opportunities and experiences. In addition to Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox services, the trip also offers non-prayer alternatives such as meditation, discussions, and/or yoga. During Shabbat, students also have the opportunity, if they would like, to take on a Hebrew name and celebrate becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah in the Holy Land.
In addition to the major sites of Israel - Masada, the Dead Sea, and the Western Wall - Birthright takes students to amazing places they didn't even know existed. From rides on a camel at a Bedouin tent, to hopping in a Jeep to explore the Golan Heights, to having lunch in a Druze village, and meeting Ethiopian children at an absorption center. And of course, in addition to the campus peers, students will be traveling with new Israeli friends and getting to know the real Israel, in all her glory.