They came, they swam, they left
In Israel's 52nd year, the rich, famous, and obscure came to visit. Here are our 52 top distinguished tourists

19. 6,000 Diaspora youth
Birthright Israel was a grand gesture, bringing young Jews from Canada, the US, Morocco, India, and South America to Israel. Sponsors Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt, who personally committed $9 million each toward the $210m. worldwide initiative, designed to provide a first Israel experience for Jews between 15 and 26. However, the program has been accompanied by grumbling from Israeli politicians about the amount of money our government was kicking in, and whether Israeli tax dollars should really be going to fund trips for young people who can probably afford to foot the bill themselves.