Gender Bender: Israel’s Next ‘Idol’ Judge

Image by GETTY IMAGES
‘American Idol” and its Israeli counterpart have both added a female judge for their 2009 seasons, but there’s one major difference: The Israeli judge used to be a man.

Image by GETTY IMAGES
Transsexual pop star Dana International has joined the panel of experts for the seventh season of “Kochav Nolad” (“A Star Is Born”), the Israeli version of the smash TV singing contest. Born Yaron Cohen, the singer will become the show’s second female judge, joining music veteran Margalit Tzanani on the male-dominated panel. The move echoes the addition of songwriter Kara DioGuardi to the judges’ table on “American Idol,” currently in its eighth season. Both that show and “Kochav Nolad” proved runaway hits in their first seasons, but have gradually cooled off.
Though never a favorite among the religious, Dana International has maintained a wide following since leading Israel to victory at the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest, a pop competition that also helped launch the careers of ABBA and Celine Dion. More recently, the singer scored a string of hit singles from her 2007 pop album “Hakol Zeh Letova” (“Everything Is for the Best”). She continues to perform occasionally for fans in Europe.
“Kochav Nolad” producers have come up with several additional changes for the show’s next season. After Passover, the judges will travel to New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas to audition Israeli expatriates, as well as American wannabes ready to sing in Hebrew.
The show’s producers are hoping to incorporate a bit of extra star power during the judges’ tour of the United States, inviting several American celebrities to serve as guest panelists. Their wish list includes Adam Sandler, Dolly Parton, Barry Manilow and Sheryl Crow, according to the “Kochav Nolad” Web site.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
- 3
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 4
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Protesters clash in Crown Heights as Ben-Gvir visits Chabad headquarters
-
Yiddish ווידעאָ: היסטאָריקער שמואל קאַסאָוו דערציילט מעשׂיות פֿון זײַן משפּחה־געשיכטעVIDEO: Historian Samuel Kassow shares stories about his family history
דער ווידעאָ איז טשיקאַווע סײַ פֿאַרן אינהאַלט סײַ פֿאַר קאַסאָווס נאַטירלעכן ליטוויש־ייִדיש
-
Culture I have seen the future of America — in a pastrami sandwich in Queens
-
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.