Reporters’ Roundtable: Israel as Wedge Issue; Birthright; Eli Valley and Amy Winehouse

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
This week, host Josh Nathan-Kazis is joined by Forward editor Jane Eisner and Forward Fellow Naomi Zeveloff to discuss how Republicans are using Israel as a wedge issue in 2012 elections. Then, Josh talks with Yossi Beilin, the left-wing former Knesset member and author of a new book, Birthright: The True Story, which details his struggles with the Jewish establishment while he developed and advocated for the Taglit-Birthright program. Finally, the Forward’s artist in residence, Eli Valley, calls in to discuss his latest comic which confronts the Forward’s coverage of Amy Winehouse’s death and his own reading of her life.
A Note to Listeners: There will be no podcast next week due to the holiday.
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.
