Billy Kaplan, “Beggar’s Niggun”
Evanston, Illinois
Age: 53
Song: “Beggar’s Niggun”
Billy may have been known in the late 1980s by teens and folkies hanging out in Washington Square Park in New York City as Mr. Tambourine Man, but now he is a singer/songwriter known for catchy melodies and rich harmonies. Billy plays the baritone ukulele, percussion and keyboards. When not performing original music around the Chicago area, he can also be found playing drums with the local klezmer band, Heavy Shtetl.
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.
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