Heeb-ish, Not Jewish

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
The hipster humorists at Heeb Magazine are taking their cool cultural gestalt out West, organizing a music festival in Oakland, Calif. But, they want to be clear, it’s not a Jewish music festival.
San Francisco’s always informative (albeit unfortunately named) Jewish newsweekly J. reports that the “Heeb fest won’t include any Jewish programming or content, nor will attendees be hearing traditional Jewish tunes.”
“We really could care less whether the people in the bands are Jewish or not — though we promise not to hold it against them if they are,” Heeb editor Joshua Neuman tells J. “Our goal isn’t to showcase Jewish musicians or ‘Jewish music’ — a murky moniker that generally signifies some sort of backwards gaze at a mythical, ‘authentic’ past. We’re interested in creating an amazing festival for our magazine’s community, many of whom happen to be Jewish.”
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
