Yiddish Actor Meets With Olmert

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
While he was in Tel Aviv for the Forward’s recent 110th anniversary celebration, actor Mike Burstyn met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
The legendary Yiddish theater and Broadway star — who appeared in a tribute performance of American Yiddish songs in honor of the Forward — phoned Olmert after it was announced that the prime minister had prostate cancer.
Burstyn, who is a survivor of the disease, assured Olmert that he, too, would make it through. Olmert thanked Burstyn for the call and invited him to visit.
"Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief"
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
