EPISODE · Feb 19, 2026 · 37 MIN
What's the next big idea? Birthright's co-founder wants to know
from Not in Heaven
Taglit-Birthright Israel was founded just over 25 years ago, with the aim of strengthening Jewish identity among young adults through a 10-day, free of charge trip to Israel. The program has brought over 900,000 young adults from 70 countries to Israel. The ambitious program began as a grand solution to solve a crisis of Jewish continuity and unity as the world entered the new millennium, spearheaded by Canadian Jewish philanthropist Charles Bronfman and American Michael Steinhardt, but required the mustering of global Jewish communal resources. Last week, Bronfman, along with Jeffrey R. Solomon, the past CEO of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, wrote an op-ed for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, titled "We backed Birthright. Now it’s time for more big ideas for a post-Oct. 7 world” where they called for the next big idea to address the next big Jewish challenges. On today’s episode of Not in Heaven, our rabbi podcasters, offer their perspectives of the Birthright Israel program and suggest what should come next. Credits Hosts: Avi Finegold, Yedida Eisenstat, Matthew Leibl Production team: Zachary Judah Kauffman (editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Socalled Support The CJN Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to Not in Heaven (Not sure how? Click here )
NOW PLAYING
What's the next big idea? Birthright's co-founder wants to know
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Mar 19, 2026 ·34m
Feb 18, 2026 ·11m
Feb 11, 2026 ·45m
Nov 12, 2025 ·35m
Oct 17, 2025 ·40m