{"id":42777,"date":"2026-08-13T08:41:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T03:41:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=42777"},"modified":"2026-08-13T08:41:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T03:41:31","slug":"birthright-is-like-group-therapy-for-jewish-americans-at-odds-over-israel-and-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=42777","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Birthright\u2019 Is Like Group Therapy for Jewish Americans at Odds Over Israel and Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"has-dropcap body dropcap\">On a recent Thursday evening in July, the line outside Manhattan\u2019s MCC Theater looked like someone had mixed a bubbe convention with a Camp Ramah reunion. This largely Jewish crowd, old and young, had come on a religious pilgrimage of sorts to the far west side to see <em>Birthright,<\/em> Jonathan Spector\u2019s new play about a group of six friends who met on an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel in 2006. Over more than three hours, <em>Birthright<\/em> explores the vicissitudes of their relationships with one another, their shared region, and the Jewish state itself.<\/p>\n<p>During the first intermission, in an audience spotted with yarmulkes, tattoos, and Chanel bags, I heard a 20-something asking her friend, \u201cDid I tell you my latest jihad has to do with the Cardi B tickets I bought?\u201d A few feet away, two 50-something women were bemoaning how young people just don\u2019t understand what \u201cthe state of Israel meant to an older generation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">They\u2019re right. Today, Jews under the age of 25 might be more likely to see a play called <em>Birthright<\/em> than to actually go on a Birthright Israel Foundation\u2013sponsored free trip to Israel. According to a March 2025 survey, only <a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/www.jewishdatabank.org\/api\/download\/?studyId=1277&amp;mediaId=bjdb%5cJFNA_Survey_4_IsraelZionismInsights.pdf\" class=\"external-link text link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.jewishdatabank.org\/api\/download\/?studyId=1277&amp;mediaId=bjdb%5cJFNA_Survey_4_IsraelZionismInsights.pdf&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jewishdatabank.org\/api\/download\/?studyId=1277&amp;mediaId=bjdb%5cJFNA_Survey_4_IsraelZionismInsights.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">35% of 18- to 34-year-olds currently identify<\/a> as \u201cZionist\u201d\u2014an increasingly fraught label that has come to be associated with an unjust war led by an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/hollywood\/story\/bombshell-documentary-benjamin-netanyahu\" class=\"text link\">ethnonationalist government<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">But for a little over 200 minutes, <em>Birthright<\/em> gives audiences a break from debating these issues in the group chat or the comment section. \u201cThe play is offering something cathartic to them. They are seeing themselves onstage, and it\u2019s creating a space that has become very strained in their circle of friends,\u201d Spector, the Tony-award winning playwright, told me over Zoom. MCC has extended <em>Birthright<\/em>\u2019s sold-out run through August 23. A source at MCC says the company is seeing a lot of groups attending together, as well as playgoers coming with multiple family members. According to the source, at least one of those groups was made up of people in their 20s who just got back from their own Birthright trip and all bought tickets together.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-iJvQnD cOWUYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-fnduJP iaVSwI asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-kFnjvc eKnjjD responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-gaAbQ hXaxHA asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><picture class=\"ResponsiveImagePicture-jKunQM gjCCFj AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-gaAbQ hXaxHA asset-embed__responsive-asset responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Hale Appleman Molly Bernard Couch Furniture Adult Person Clothing Footwear Shoe and Conversation\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-dkeESL cQPiWi responsive-image__image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.vanityfair.com\/photos\/6a7b9ee5a65e098331b8a66a\/master\/w_120,c_limit\/Hale%20Appleman%20and%20Molly%20Bernard%20in%20MCC%20Theater's%202026%20production%20of%20BIRTHRIGHT%20-%20Photo%20by%20Emilio%20Madrid.jpg 120w, https:\/\/media.vanityfair.com\/photos\/6a7b9ee5a65e098331b8a66a\/master\/w_240,c_limit\/Hale%20Appleman%20and%20Molly%20Bernard%20in%20MCC%20Theater's%202026%20production%20of%20BIRTHRIGHT%20-%20Photo%20by%20Emilio%20Madrid.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.vanityfair.com\/photos\/6a7b9ee5a65e098331b8a66a\/master\/w_320,c_limit\/Hale%20Appleman%20and%20Molly%20Bernard%20in%20MCC%20Theater's%202026%20production%20of%20BIRTHRIGHT%20-%20Photo%20by%20Emilio%20Madrid.jpg 320w, https:\/\/media.vanityfair.com\/photos\/6a7b9ee5a65e098331b8a66a\/master\/w_640,c_limit\/Hale%20Appleman%20and%20Molly%20Bernard%20in%20MCC%20Theater's%202026%20production%20of%20BIRTHRIGHT%20-%20Photo%20by%20Emilio%20Madrid.jpg 640w, https:\/\/media.vanityfair.com\/photos\/6a7b9ee5a65e098331b8a66a\/master\/w_768,c_limit\/Hale%20Appleman%20and%20Molly%20Bernard%20in%20MCC%20Theater's%202026%20production%20of%20BIRTHRIGHT%20-%20Photo%20by%20Emilio%20Madrid.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.vanityfair.com\/photos\/6a7b9ee5a65e098331b8a66a\/master\/w_960,c_limit\/Hale%20Appleman%20and%20Molly%20Bernard%20in%20MCC%20Theater's%202026%20production%20of%20BIRTHRIGHT%20-%20Photo%20by%20Emilio%20Madrid.jpg 960w, https:\/\/media.vanityfair.com\/photos\/6a7b9ee5a65e098331b8a66a\/master\/w_1280,c_limit\/Hale%20Appleman%20and%20Molly%20Bernard%20in%20MCC%20Theater's%202026%20production%20of%20BIRTHRIGHT%20-%20Photo%20by%20Emilio%20Madrid.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/media.vanityfair.com\/photos\/6a7b9ee5a65e098331b8a66a\/master\/w_1600,c_limit\/Hale%20Appleman%20and%20Molly%20Bernard%20in%20MCC%20Theater's%202026%20production%20of%20BIRTHRIGHT%20-%20Photo%20by%20Emilio%20Madrid.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"100vw\" src=\"https:\/\/media.vanityfair.com\/photos\/6a7b9ee5a65e098331b8a66a\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/Hale%2520Appleman%2520and%2520Molly%2520Bernard%2520in%2520MCC%2520Theater's%25202026%2520production%2520of%2520BIRTHRIGHT%2520-%2520Photo%2520by%2520Emilio%2520Madrid.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"BaseText-fEwdHD CaptionText-cQpRdU klhnDX hbiMYj caption__text\">Hale Appleman and Molly Bernard<\/span><span class=\"BaseText-fEwdHD CaptionCredit-cUgOGk gsdIcD hRFzlA caption__credit\">Emilio Madrid<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On a recent Thursday evening in July, the line outside Manhattan\u2019s MCC Theater looked like someone had mixed a bubbe convention with a Camp Ramah reunion. This largely Jewish crowd, old and young, had come on a religious pilgrimage of sorts to the far west side to see Birthright, Jonathan Spector\u2019s new play about a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media.vanityfair.com\/photos\/6a7b9ee5f44152a3edf6931a\/16:9\/w_1280,c_limit\/Zoe%CC%88%20Winters,%20Eli%20Gelb,%20Molly%20Ranson,%20Nate%20Mann,%20and%20Hale%20Appleman%20in%20MCC%20Theater's%202026%20production%20of%20BIRTHRIGHT%20-%20Photo%20by%20Emilio%20Madrid.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}