Many of the young people who pass through the Jewish
Enrichment Center in Lower Manhattan view it with great affection. It
is often the first time they have come in contact with a Judaism that
is engaging and accessible.
The rabbis responsible for the center’s educational
and religious programs are charismatic and approachable people who,
participants say, have had a large impact on their lives.
As the official New York follow-up organization for
Taglit-Birthright Israel – which sends young people on free trips to
Israel and lately is trying to keep them Jewishly engaged when they
return – there could hardly be a better model.
But there are also those Birthright alumni who have been turned off by
the JEC, sensing that it has a hidden, religious agenda that clashes
with Birthright’s declared nondenominational and pluralistic stance.