Dr. Yossi Beilin

Birthright: the True Story Dr. Yossi Beilin

- - To strengthen the bond between Jews in Israel and Jews living in the Diaspora and to create a Jewish meeting point, Taglit-Birthright Israel, which was initiated by Yossi Beilin, has for the last 10 years provided Jewish young adults with the opportunity to visit Israel at no charge. In his latest book, "Birthright: The True Story" (ISBN 1456452606), Beilin seeks to reveal the unexpected struggles he encountered from Jewish establishments-- both in Israel and the wider Jewish community--in finding support for these free trips. Written to expose the inner culture and politics of the existing Jewish establishments, Beilin describes the challenges he had to overcome to make the program a reality: from confronting harsh opposition, to gaining financial support from donors and eventually convincing the wider Jewish community of the necessity of such a program. "False knowledge has been spread about the creation of Birthright, or been left out completely," Beilin said. "I wanted to provide the truth behind this project." "Birthright: The True Story" looks to provide readers with insight behind the project that has sent a quarter of a million young Jews to Israel. Beilin mixes the elements of a documentary with those of a memoir to show the personal struggles he faced in order to facilitate such a monumental international project.