Birthright Israel & The IDF

Since its establishment in 1999, the organization Taglit-Birthright Israel has taken hundreds of thousands of young Jews on an all-expenses-paid trip to the Holy Land, encouraging them to settle down and have children in a country with the highest birth rate in the Western-aligned world. This week, June and Josh take a look at how Birthright functions, both as a natalist project and a backstop for The Most Moral Army In The World™ and its ongoing campaign of genocide against Palestine. \*\*\*WANT MORE ILL CONCEIVED? Every other week, we release B-side supplements to the main episodes where we read your e-mail responses and discuss things further. Come check us out at Patreon.com/illconceived!\*\** \*\*\*WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WORLD FAMOUS MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to [illconceivedpod@gmail.com](mailto:illconceivedpod@gmail.com)\*\** EPISODE ART: Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire founder of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation. Before his death in 2021, Adelson was the single largest funder of Birthright Israel, contributing over $500 million alongside his wife Miriam. AUDIO CLIPS: - 49:33 – Excerpt from an NPR article about the IDF sperm retrieval unit by Daniel Estrin SOURCES: - What is Birthright Israel? - Why Do Observant Jews Have So Many Kids? - Israel’s Religiously Divided Society - Debating Natalism: Israeli One-Woman Shows on Experiencing Childlessness - Families of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza are retreiving sperm from their bodies - Questioning our 'Birthright' - 15 year old thread on Birthright: Just got back from my Birthright trip. I want to share my experience with others because it did not match the promotional material. - New data suggest Birthright effect on Jewish marriage, connection to Israel lasts up to 2 decades - The Romance of Birthright Israel FOLLOW THE SHOW: - Website: illconceivedpodcast.com - Bluesky: ‪@illconceivedpodcast.com - Tumblr: @illconceivedpod FOLLOW JOSH: - Website: joshboerman.com - Bluesky: @bosh.worstpossible.world - Other podcast: The Worst of All Possible Worlds - Stream: Traditional Scrench FOLLOW JUNE: - Bluesky: @junlper.beer - Other podcast: Kill The Computer - Writing: June's Substack ILL CONCEIVED THEME SONG BY: Caleb (Linktree / Bluesky)