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There’s a Grammy for Christian music. These musicians want Jewish music to get one, too.
(J. The Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) — There is a Grammy Award for just about every kind of music — from pop to metal to New Age to Contemporary Christian — but there’s no Jewish category. Two Jewish musician friends hope to change that.
Joanie Leeds, a children’s musician and Grammy winner in New York City, and Mikey Pauker, a self-described “devotional rock” artist from California, are working on a formal proposal to add “best Jewish music album” to the list of Grammys awarded each year. They plan to submit their proposal to the Recording Academy, the body that governs the Grammys, by March 1.
In the past, albums of what is traditionally considered to be Jewish music have been nominated in a variety of categories, including best contemporary world music. The Klezmatics’ “Wonder Wheel” album won in that category in 2006, and some referred to the award as “the first Jewish Grammy.”
But musicians who produce albums of Jewish music often find themselves caught between categories, Leeds said. The global category is not a fit for American musicians, and categories for religious music, even if expanded, are also not an easy fit, she said.
“‘Jewish’ is complicated, because it’s not just a religion like Christianity,” Leeds said. “It’s also a culture.”
To strengthen their proposal, the pair consulted with rabbis and Jewish educators about what constitutes Jewish music.
“We’re doing our best to be as clear as possible and as inclusive as possible, because not everybody knows that Jewish music is diverse,” Pauker said. “It’s transdenominational, it’s based in spirituality, it’s based in culture and it’s not just Ashkenazi.”
Mikey Pauker, seen here performing in Berkeley, California, is one of the musicians behind a petition to add a Jewish music category to the Grammys. (Courtesy Pauker)
In their proposal, Pauker and Leeds make the case for a new category that will encompass Jewish religious music, such as cantorial music, nigguns and Mizrahi music, as well as secular music, such as klezmer, Yiddish, Ladino and Judeo-Arabic music. Albums with Christian themes, including those produced by Messianic Jews, would not be eligible.
“It needs to have some sort of Jewish content in it to make it Jewish music,” Leeds said. “If there’s a song in Israel about some guy meeting a girl at a bar, or whatever it’s about that has no grounds in text or liturgy or anything, then it wouldn’t be considered Jewish music.”
“Our goal is really to educate not just the Recording Academy about what Jewish music is, but also educating the public as to what Jewish music is,” she said.
The Recording Academy regularly adds and modifies Grammy categories. This year, it added five new ones, including best score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media and best spoken-word poetry album.
Pauker said this is not the first time musicians have petitioned the Recording Academy to add a Jewish category. But this time, he said, he and Leeds can point to the consistent output of high-quality Jewish music in recent years. He noted that in the past two years alone, more than 100 albums were released that could have been nominated in such a category.
“We’re at a point in music history where we’re having a Jewish renaissance, and the market has arrived,” he said. “We have enough artists where we can get this done.” He added that the Recording Academy has been supportive of him and Leeds in their endeavor.
In an effort to raise awareness about their proposal, they have launched a petition on the Change.org website. By Friday, it had more than 1,800 signatures, including from non-Jewish musicians.
A petition to add a Jewish Grammys category garnered more than 1,800 signatures in its first week. (Screenshot from Change.org)
Among the signers is Sephardic singer and activist Sarah Aroeste. She said she supports the push to add a Jewish category at the Grammys because her albums, including 2021’s “Monastir,” do not fit cleanly into the other categories.
“Jewish music crosses so many musical boundaries, yet we get lost, or are ineligible, in existing categories,” she wrote. “As a Ladino musician specifically, I’ve always been put in the global music category. I am literally up against musical acts from all around the globe!”
She added: “Having our own category — much like other ethnic or religious groups have them — would highlight the breadth and diversity of Jewish music as a genre and would allow those Academy members knowledgeable about the music to be able to vote.”
Pauker, 37, lives in southern California and recently launched his own folk-rock-reggae-chant record label called Beautiful Way Records. He will help lead Shabbat services during Wilderness Torah’s upcoming Passover in the Desert festival.
Leeds, who is based in New York City, won a 2021 Grammy in the Best Children’s Music Album category for her ninth album, a compilation of secular children’s music called “All the Ladies” that included a song about Jewish Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She has also released multiple albums of Jewish kids’ music, including “Meshugana” and “Challah, Challah,” as well as a Christmas record called “Oy Vey” in collaboration with the rapper Fyütch.
Pauker said the two became close friends during the pandemic, when they spent many hours on the social media app Clubhouse discussing Judaism and music.
As the Recording Academy considers their proposal in the coming weeks, Pauker said he and Leeds will hold community conversations about trends in Jewish music.
“One of our hopes is this will launch hundreds of new artists, new records and collaborations that can really help push this genre forward,” he said.
This story originally appeared in J. The Jewish News of Northern California and is reprinted with permission. Jackie Hajdenberg added reporting for JTA.
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Israeli Artist Forced to Close Mexico City Exhibit for ‘Safety Reasons’ After Antisemitic Harassment, Vandalism
Pro-Palestinian protesters and vandals hold a flag during a demonstration against Amir Fattal, an openly Zionist Israeli graphic artist. They later spray-painted the facade of the private KÖNIG GALERIE gallery, where he was exhibiting some of his AI-generated works. Photo: Gerardo Vieyra / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect
An Israeli artist based in Berlin was forced to close his solo exhibition at a Mexico City gallery a week earlier than planned following continued antisemitic harassment, a protest at his exhibit, and vandalism of the gallery.
Artist and curator Amir Fattal shared the news on Instagram about the closing of his exhibit, “I’m Just Here For The Pool,” at the König contemporary art gallery. The show opened on Feb. 3 and was expected to close on April 1, according to the gallery.
On March 26, pro-Palestinian activists spray-painted antisemitic and anti-Israel messages and symbols across the outer walls of the König gallery. Swastikas, Star of Davids, the word “Nazi,” and more offensive messages were spray-painted along with the number “666.” The number is used by the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist group, and it signifies the “number of the beast,” according to the Anti-Defamation League. On the door of the gallery, a vandal carved a swastika and the phrase “acqui hay terroristas,” which translates in English to “here there are terrorists.” The same phrase was written in chalk on the street in front of the gallery, according to photos shared by Reuters.
On March 21, during a guided tour of the gallery, roughly 15 demonstrators gathered outside, chanted against Fattal, and called him “a murderer” and “a Mossad agent,” according to Artnet.
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Israeli Forces to Expand Control in Southern Lebanon as Defense Chief Outlines Long-Term Security Plans
Smoke rises after an Israeli strike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in southern Lebanon, March 28, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Tuesday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will maintain security control over territory in southern Lebanon up to the Litani River even after active ground operations against Hezbollah conclude, signaling plans for a sustained Israeli security presence along the northern front.
During a press briefing, Katz pointed to a shift beyond limited cross-border raids, outlining plans for a long-term security presence and the creation of a buffer zone as part of a broader effort to reshape the security landscape in Lebanon.
Under this new plan, the IDF will move to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in border villages using operational methods similar to those employed in the Gaza Strip against Hamas, aiming to permanently eliminate the threat of cross-border raids and anti-tank fire targeting Israeli frontline communities.
“The return of more than 600,000 southern Lebanese residents who fled north of the Litani River will remain completely prohibited until the security of Israel’s northern residents is guaranteed,” the Israeli defense chief said.
Katz also announced the IDF plans to establish a new defensive line inside Lebanese territory once the ground campaign concludes.
“The IDF will maintain security control over the entire area up to the Litani River, including all bridges, while fully neutralizing Radwan’s forces and destroying their weapons,” he said, referring to Hezbollah’s elite units.
“We are determined to separate Lebanon from Iran’s influence, to uproot the snake’s teeth, and eliminate Hezbollah’s threat capability,” Katz continued. “The situation in Lebanon will change once and for all — we will enforce security just as we do in Syria and Gaza.”
During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined a tougher operational approach to the campaign in Lebanon, emphasizing shifts in battlefield tactics following the heavy toll the fighting has taken.
“I have ordered our soldiers to avoid entering buildings whenever possible, using mechanical engineering equipment and heavy weapons instead,” Netanyahu said, explaining that the goal is to “minimize casualties” and to safeguard soldiers on the ground.
With prospects of potential ceasefire negotiations with Iran to end the ongoing war still uncertain, Netanyahu said Israel is shaping a new security reality along its northern border and will act independently of any agreement possibly reached with Tehran.
“Even if an agreement is reached with Iran, a ceasefire in Lebanon cannot be imposed on us — that must be Israel’s own independent decision,” the Israeli leader said.
The Iranian regime backs and ultimately commands Hezbollah, having formed the Lebanese terrorist group in the 1980s and, since then, providing significant amounts of weapons, funding, and training.
Last week, Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem warned that negotiating with Israel while under fire would amount to forced surrender, adding that his fighters are prepared to continue operations “without limits.”
With a ground maneuver underway to expand a defensive zone in southern Lebanon, the IDF says it has eliminated over 850 Hezbollah terrorists since fighting began earlier this month, while continuing to dismantle the group’s command and weapons infrastructure.
Israel has intensified strikes targeting Hezbollah, particularly south of the Litani River, where the group’s operatives have historically been most active against the Jewish state. Hezbollah opened fire on Israel earlier this month, just a few days after the US and Israel launched their joint military campaign against Iran.
Israel has long demanded that Hezbollah be barred from carrying out activities south of the Litani, located roughly 15 miles from the Israeli border.
Although the overall number of attacks has decreased, Hezbollah continues to launch significant strikes against civilian areas while maintaining sustained operations targeting IDF forces in southern Lebanon.
In just the first month of the conflict, Israeli officials report that Hezbollah has carried out more than 900 coordinated attacks, marking a sharp increase in cross-border activity and a broader expansion of its operations across the region.
On Sunday, Israeli forces intercepted a Hezbollah a terrorist cell disguised as paramedics who tried to transport weapons in an ambulance.
For years, Hezbollah has embedded command posts, weapons depots, snipers, and troops within Shiite villages, situating them in the heart of civilian centers near schools, hospitals, mosques, and main roads to turn entire communities into battlefields.
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Newest Members of the IDF’s Ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade Get Their Berets
Illustrative: Members of the Hasmonean Brigade during their beret ceremony at the Western Wall on Aug. 6, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
The third set of soldiers in the Hasmonean Brigade, the Israel Defense Force’s first ultra-Orthodox brigade, completed eight months of training earlier this month and received their dark blue berets at the end of a beret march of approximately 40 kilometers, according to the Israeli news outlet Walla.
The troops will join the regular forces of the Hasmonean Brigade, which was established in 2024 and has participated in military operations in Syria, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and southern Lebanon. Members of the brigade live an ultra-Orthodox lifestyle, and their blue berets reportedly symbolize the sky. The brigade is named after the Hasmonean Jewish dynasty that ruled Judea, and liberated Jerusalem and the Temple from oppressive Greek rule.
In February, members of the Hasmonean Brigade’s Yonatan Battalion completed its first-ever battalion-level exercise in the Golan Heights area, “marking the conclusion of the battalion’s operational certification process and its preparation for operational activity,” according to the military. During the exercise, the soldiers were trained in combat in open terrain, targeted operations, and urban warfare scenarios. It took place mere weeks after the start of the Israel-Iran war, also known as Operation Roaring Lion.
“You can be ultra-Orthodox and be a combat soldier – you are making history,” Commander of the Ground Forces, Major General Nadav Lotan, said at the time. “The Hasmonean Brigade continues to establish itself as a combat brigade within the ground forces. This exercise, along with the establishment of the battalions, marks another significant step forward. I am proud of you – the brigade’s troops and commanders. You operate at a high operational standard while preserving your unique identity.”