Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon welcomed this summer’s birthright israel students. “I must tell you something,” Sharon told thousands of young Jewish adults from all over the world gathered at Jerusalem’s International Conference Center on Sunday. “We always have some worries here, but when I see you, I hear you, I know there is no reason to worry.” The program sends Jews aged 18 to 26 on free trips to Israel. Despite drastic cuts in Israeli government subsidies to birthright israel, the program says it has drawn thousands of participants to the Jewish state this year.
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