A group opened applications for Birthright Palestine. “The First Annual Birthright Palestine program is to launch this summer, and is meant to counter the effects of Birthright Israel, which over the years has brought thousands of Jewish people from around the world to ‘Israel’ in order to encourage their adoption of Zionist ideals and learn about their ‘promised land,’ ” according to the pitch on the Birthright Palestine Web site. “Many of its participants end up becoming Israeli citizens and illegal settlers.”
The program was created by the Palestine Center for National Strategic Studies, a new nonprofit, nongovernmental organization.
It is aimed at “first-generation, western-born Palestinians (over the age of 18-years old) in their ancestral homeland, so that they can reunite and witness firsthand how their brethren are living under illegal Israeli military occupation,” the site said.
Unlike the Israeli birthright program, participants are expected to pay their way for one-, two- or three-month programs starting May 24.
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