Punk Icon Jello Biafra Defies Fans to Come to Israel
Image by Catherine Andersen
Crossposted from Haaretz
Image by Catherine Andersen
Devout listeners to Michal Niv’s program on Army Radio, Hafsakat Esser (10 a..m. Break), will never forget the voice that shouted “California Uber Alles” on her show.
The queen of 1980s alternative radio, Niv often devoted airtime to punks and hardcore musicians, but even among her extreme group of fans, a place of honor is reserved for Jello Biafra, the Dead Kennedys’ former vocalist, who is scheduled to appear at the Barby Club in Tel Aviv on Friday.
Capitalists and fascists who happen on the place by mistake are likely to find themselves under a massive attack by one of the biggest mouths the American music world has ever known. Armed with an acid voice, with the energy of a dozen activists and the understanding that the best way to get people to think critically is to shock them, Biafra dropped anarchist bombs in the shape of short songs that were noisy and provocative.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
