Abstract
Focusing on findings from a study of summer 2014 applicants and participants, this report is the latest in a series of studies of Taglit-Birthright Israel. Summer 2014 was notable for three reasons. First, the summer trips attracted the largest group of applicants from this region since the program’s inception. Second, for the first time, applicants who had had a peer educational experience in Israel during their high school years were eligible to apply to the program. Third, the program occurred during a six-week war in which missiles were fired from Gaza into Israeli population centers and Israel responded with a military intervention in Gaza, “Operation Protective Edge.” The report focuses on understanding the degree to which the change in the applicant pool affected perceptions of the trip experience, the impact of the trip itself on connection to Israel and sense of Jewish identity, and the impact of the conflict in Gaza on trip experiences and trip impact.