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Source: http://www.cjnews.com/perspectives/birthright-politics-soul
Birthright's Unexpected Allies
(Canadian Jewish News) Gil Troy - The Taglit-Birthright Israel program recently brought its 600,000th participant to Israel. Dozens of conversations I've had with Birthright participants in my voluntary role as chairman of its international education committee have confirmed my theory that the hyper-critical media and the blame-Israel-firsters are, ironically, allies in Birthright's success. When something exceeds one's expectations, or when reality forces one to view something more positively than originally expected, one's enthusiasm soars. When people expect Israel to be an undemocratic and amoral society but witness a democratic and moral country, and see the 88% of Israelis who recently reported themselves to be happy, most turn downright euphoric. The writer is Professor of History at McGill University.