Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky

Achinoam Nini, the recording artist better known as Noa, is under fire for singing at a joint Israeli-Palestinian event last week to mark Yom Hazikaron, the memorial day for Israeli soldiers and terror victims. The event was organized by Combatants for Peace, a group of Palestinians and Israelis, who have taken an active part in the cycle of violence; Israelis as soldiers in the Israeli army (IDF) and Palestinians as part of the violent struggle for Palestinian freedom.” Now, a campaign by the Israeli right-wing to boycott her is gathering pace.

Noa has responded on her blog calling the event “beautiful and moving,” saying that she “felt fortunate and privileged to be allowed to lend my voice to such an important event,” and raging against her critics. She declared that she was writing “because it is important that you know that Israel is now going thorough one of the darkest periods of her short history” and the number “of brainwashed people walking the streets here, the amount of RACISM and blind hatred, is simply mindboggling.”

Israel has, she wrote, “turned to talking in slogans, our minds have become little advertising sound-bits: we’re right, they’re wrong, they’re terrorists, we’re angels, god’s on our side, we did everything for peace, they refused, it’s their fault, there’s no partner, you’re either with us or against us etc.” This leads to a “witch hunt, evoking medieval times, an Israeli take on McCarthyism, is a dangerous slippery slope that will lead Israel straight to oblivion.” In an age of soundbytes and parev politics, whether or not you agree with her, it’s good to see a musician who speaks her mind.

"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.

That’s where you come in. Gifts of any size keep the Forward free and accessible to everyone and ensure we have the resources we need to power the Forward at this critical time for American Jews.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. That’s only possible thanks to the support of readers like you. Will you support our work today?

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT