Birthright Unplugged
 | |
| Formation | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Oakland, California |
Director | Dunya Alwan |
| Budget | $27,286[1] |
| Website | birthrightunplugged |
Birthright Unplugged is an educational organization, designed as a response to the Birthright Israel trips. The name "Birthright Unplugged" is a spin on the "Birthright Israel" program.[2][3]
History and organization
[edit]According to Birthright Unplugged, it was founded in 2003 by Dunya Alwan and Hannah Mermelstein.[4] Alwan, an Iraqi-American of Muslim and Jewish descent, serves as the organization's current director.[5]
In 2005, Birthright Israel filed a "cease and desist" complaint against Birthright Unplugged for trademark infringement, alleging "unfair competition".[6]
Activities
[edit]The Unplugged trip sought to expose mostly North American people to the Palestinian side of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict through travel and conversations with a range of Palestinian activists. In six days, they visited Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps in the West Bank and spend time with Palestinian refugees[vague] living inside Israel.
The organization ran a second program, Birthright Re-Plugged, which took Palestinian children living in Palestinian refugee camps on field trips in Israel to see the villages left by their families in the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight. In two days, they visit Jerusalem, the Mediterranean Sea, and the children's ancestral villages.
References
[edit]- ^ "Birthright Unplugged". propublica.org. ProPublica. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ^ Rachel Shabi (5 June 2006). "Come, See Palestine". Salon. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ "Does Birthright deliver?". Archived from the original on 2008-06-01.
- ^ "Birthright Unplugged's History". Birthright Unplugged. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ^ "Should Israel Birthright Include Implication For Occupied Territories?". NPR. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ^ Bradley, Matt (12 January 2006). "Flap over young Jews' visits to Holy Land". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 14 October 2014.