Safety & Security

URJ Kesher is a non-profit organization with a proud tradition of serving the Jewish world for over 100 years. Our single focus is to provide you with a meaningful Taglit-Birthright Israel experience that is both safe and secure. While our approach to security is systematic and comprehensive, we are equally committed to providing you with meaningful and entirely enjoyable experience. It is our sincere belief that these two elements of the program do not need to be mutually exclusive. In fact, we often find that when participants arrive in Israel, they feel a sense of security that does not match depictions in the media.

The following are our core approaches to providing a safe and secure experience in Israel:

Security Escort
Each group is accompanied in Israel at all time by one or two security escorts who are also trained medics.

Carefully Planned Itineraries
Each group's itinerary is approved two weeks before the trip and re-approved each morning of the trip by a special "Situation Room" that is operated in partnership with the Israeli security services on behalf of Taglit-Birthright Israel.

24/7 Monitoring
Each group carries a GPS communication and tracking device to ensure that the group is always in contact with the "Situation Room" and our main office.

Avoiding Area of Concern
The program itinerary does not include travel anywhere near the Gaza Strip, and we do not travel through any Palestinian controlled areas of the West Bank.

Extra Precautions in Israel
While the program does make visits to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, our travel within the major cities is generally confined to closed areas with special protection (e.g. the Western Wall, Yad VaShem, etc.). We never travel in crowded public areas without a security perimeter, and we always travel on our own private buses.

Finally, it is important to remember that over the past 11 years, over 250,000 people have visited Israel on a Taglit-Birthright Israel gift without a single security-related incident. Behind this statistic is a truly iron clad commitment to providing a secure environment on all of our programs. If you, your family, or a friend would like to discuss our security approach in greater detail, we encourage you to contact us directly by email or by phone at 202-640-2648.