THE ISRAELI Government partially sponsors Birthright Israel, which invites young Jews to travel to the Holy Land. Would my taking part be an endorsement of the policies of that Government or could I still criticise Israel? When politicians take gifts from an interest group, they are indelibly linked to its mission.
Not being a politician, you face no conflict of interest between your constituents — you have none — and your donors. Nor is travelling to a country tantamount to endorsing all its actions. If visitors to the US had to embrace every aspect of its foreign policy, the tourist trade would wither.
Even a trip to an utterly abhorrent regime need not be a sign of approbation. Jesse Owens’s participation in the 1936 Berlin Olympics was not a pro-Nazi gesture.
This programme offers you a chance to gain a deeper understanding of Israel; nothing more. It’s the geopolitical equivalent of a free weekend in a holiday house that you may choose not to buy. You go, you look, you decide.
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Does the Israeli Government hope you’ll like what you see? Absolutely. Does that require you to be uncritical? Certainly not.
You may speak candidly when you are there and when you return.
Some circumstances would deter your vacation plans. If the Government planned to use your visit as propaganda — picture yourself in a TV commercial with the tagline, “The West Bank Settlements, Playground of British Youth!” — you might reconsider.
And if there were an organised boycott of an odious policy, as was the case in the US with those opposing use of the Confederate flag by some Southern states, you should honour it. But in your case neither condition applies.
Can you suggest solutions to this ethical dilemma? Or do you have dilemmas of your own? Write to: The Ethicist, Times Features, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1TT. E-mail: ethicist@thetimes.co.uk. Readers’ solutions will be published tomorrow.
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The Ethicist originates from The New York Times Magazine.