LET ’EM ROCK
Though it had to wait a bit before going live, a Web site devoted to the intersection of Jewish culture and rock ’n’ roll has arrived. Originally called “The Jewish Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” until a lawsuit from the “real” Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, located in Cleveland, prompted reconsideration, Jewsrock.org is now ready to roll. According to Reuters, site co-founder (and former Forward staffer) Jeffrey Goldberg is secretly grateful for the legal battle. “Thanks to their lawsuit,” he said, “we discovered people we didn’t even know who were Jewish.” These names — along with such big shots as Bob Dylan and Billy Joel — can now find a place in the Web site’s Challah Fame.
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.
, editor-in-chief