This Palestinian Woman Can Really Pump Iron

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
This is pretty cool!
, an Armenian-Palestinian from Jerusalem, became the first Palestinian female bodybuilder to participate and win a competition in Israel. She won “Miss Fitness” at a competition organized by the National Amateur Bodybuilders Association, also known as NABBA.
The Arab Christian contestant beat 4 other Israeli bodybuilders for the title, after only one year of intense training.
In 2005, Anoush also participated in a peace-themed beauty pageant that had both Palestinians and Jewish participants.

Image by Getty Images
From beauty pageants to body-building contests? We dig it. Congratulations, Anoush!
This Palestinian is Israel’s New Miss Fitness
Meet Israel’s new bodybuilding champion…a Palestinian.
Posted by AJ+ on Thursday, September 3, 2015
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.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
