Birthright Israel is back after a post-Oct. 7 hiatus, trying to find meaning in a nation at war. Last month, I spent ten days on a Birthright trip with 31 other American Jews ages 18 to 21. The trips, which cost Birthright an estimated $4,500 each, are free; donors and … more

Israel’s abandonment of its “red list” of countries from which foreign travelers were banned was welcome news to pro-Israel groups whose bread and butter is organizing trips to the … more

Two organizations that provide Israel experiences for Jewish young adults, Birthright Israel and Onward Israel, are merging. … more

Birthright Israel announced on Monday that it will resume trips to Israel beginning in May, with dozens of tour groups planned in May and June and more than 400 in July, August and October. The trips … more

The executive vice president of the Orthodox Union outlined a smörgåsbord of initiatives by his organization to tackle growing challenges in both Orthodox and … more

Would the builders of New York’s Temple Emanu-El ever have imagined that their congregation’s sanctuary would one day be packed to the balconies with thousands of devout followers of a … more

Jeff Seidel cheerfully admits to having a terrible sense of direction. “It’s the worst,” he says with a grin. “I get lost coming out of the shower.” But if … more

If we put together recent discoveries in neuroscience with Midrashic tradition, we may be able to shed new light on the meaning of the central mystery of Parshat Acharei Mot: the two goats, … more

The announcement from J Street that it plans to sponsor a free trip this summer for college-age students, to compete with the popular Birthright Israel program, provoked predictable outrage. Many … more

For Birthright Israel, 2018 was a year that organizers could only have dreamed of back in 1999, when a few philanthropists joined the government of Israel and North American Jewish federations to … more