Three Hundred Young Jewish Professionals Attend Birthright Israel Excel Summit

The summit also held workshops to empower participants to combat antisemitism.

David Bernstein, CAM senior advisor and founder of the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values, lead a session titled, “Countering Political Extremism and Anti-Semitism Today.” Greg Thomas, co-executive director of the Omni-American Future Project – an initiative committed to fighting racism and anti-Semitism and strengthening unity between the Black American and Jewish communities through exposure to each group’s music and culture – lead a session titled, “Black-Jewish Relations: The Omni-American Vision.” And Anila Ali, a Muslim civil-rights advocate, lead a session titled, “Fighting Anti-Semitism in the Muslim World.”

Since 2011, Birthright Israel Excel has been engaged in developing the next generation of Jewish business leaders. The Excel Fellowship selects extraordinary college students around the world for a summer business or tech internship in Tel Aviv at leading companies. After their return, Excel Fellows become part of a global community that provides resources for professional and personal development and Israel engagement, while also being dedicated to philanthropy.

“The Birthright Israel Excel program is considered to be the most prestigious program in the Jewish world today, with only a few dozen young people being accepted from thousands of applicants. This year we received applications from 26 countries,” said Gidi Mark, CEO of Birthright Israel.

“Birthright Excel Fellows are active every day as recognized leaders in their professional arenas and within the broad Jewish community and it’s our goal to continue guiding and supporting them in their efforts to build a thriving and better Jewish future for all.”