30,000 visited Israel over the summer with Birthright

Organization says it will start offering new, seven-day trip geared at young professionals

Some 30,000 young Jews from 59 countries visited Israel over the summer with Birthright Israel, which offers free 10-day trips to Israel for young Jews between ages 18 and 26, the organization said.

Birthright announced last week that it will offer a new, seven-day trip to Israel in an effort to allow young professionals to participate in the free trip to Israel.

“The purpose of this trip offering is to allow those who are busy and having a hard time taking off work to still enjoy the trip,” said Noa Bauer, Birthright Israel’s VP of International Marketing. “We’re reaching out to young professionals who are committed to building their careers and can’t seem to take the full 10 days off work.

Over the past 16 years, Birthright Israel has brought more than 500,000 young Jewish adults to Israel.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.