Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Noa Says Israel Faces ‘Darkest Period’ in History

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.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.