22-year-old from Ukraine dies on Birthright

Police were investigating the death on Tuesday of a Ukrainian participant in Birthright Israel.

The 22-year-old participant, from Kharkov in the Ukraine, was said to have been electrocuted when he apparently climbed an electric pole in Shlomi, on the northern border, early on Tuesday morning, a source familiar with the incident said.

It was not immediately clear why he did so or who was present when it happened, the source said.

His family was notified, and asked for the body to be sent home.

The police were expected to complete their investigation on Wednesday. Birthright’s office in NY was said to be drafting a statement for release later Tuesday.

The Taglit-Birthright program gives young Diaspora Jews a free, 10-day educational trip to Israel. It marked its bar mitzva this year; during those 13 years it has brought over 300,000 participants to Israel from some 50 countries.