Noa Tohar Tishby (; ; born May 1975)) is an Israeli actress and activist. She appeared in a variety of American television shows and movies, including The Affair, The Island, Nip/Tuck, Big Love, NCIS, and others. She is the co-executive producer of the HBO series In Treatment, which is an adaptation of the Israeli series BeTipul. Her production company Noa's Arc was responsible for selling several other adaptations of Israeli programs to American networks.
Tishby focuses on Zionist activism, founding the advocacy organization Act for Israel in 2011. In 2021, she published her first book, Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth. She served as the Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism and the Delegitimization of Israel for one year, from 2022 to 2023.
Early life Noa Tishby was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, in May 1975, into a Jewish family involved in the establishment of Israel. The kibbutz her grandfather co-founded was among the first in Israel's history. Tishby began acting at an early age, appearing in commercials by age 8. As a teenager, she earned a drama scholarship from the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and acted in several stage productions and television shows. She also served two and a half years in the Israel Defense Forces. She has described herself as having had a secular Zionist upbringing, having first been to a synagogue only after she had moved to Los Angeles.
Career Tishby began to achieve fame in Israel in the 1990s, appearing on the Israeli television drama Ramat Aviv Gimmel and starring as Anita in a production of West Side Story at the Habima Theatre. She released an English language album (Nona) and appeared on magazine covers and billboard ads as a model. In the early 2000s, she moved to Los Angeles, an ambition she had from childhood.
By 2006, Tishby had appeared in a series of television roles on shows like Star Trek: Enterprise, Nip/Tuck, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The 4400, and Charmed. She had a part in the 2005 film The Island. In 2008, Tishby sold the Israeli drama series BeTipul to HBO. It was the first Israeli format to become an American television show. The resultant American adaptation, In Treatment, premiered in 2008 with Tishby as co-executive producer along with Mark Wahlberg.
It ran for three seasons between 2008 and 2010, before returning for a fourth season in 2021 with Tishby still as co-executive producer. The show, which follows a series of fictional therapy sessions, won a Peabody Award in 2009. In the years during and after In Treatments first run, Tishby continued to play roles on TV shows like NCIS and Big Love.
Additionally, Tishby began pitching adaptations of other Israeli programs to American networks through her production company Noa's Arc. Tishby was responsible for the development of adaptations for A Touch Away, as well as Life Isn't Everything, which was renamed Divorce: A Love Story for the American version.
In July 2017, Tishby served as the host of the opening ceremony of the 2017 Maccabiah Games.
Activism
Tishby has been an activist advocating for Israel since at least 2011. Tishby has harshly criticized the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, referring to the principles behind its cause as "misinformation, disinformation, manipulation, elimination of history and flat-out lies." She has called Amnesty International's characterization of Israel as an apartheid state "disgraceful".
In 2014, she founded Reality Israel, which holds a series of "leadership trips" for Jewish and non-Jewish people in Israel. In 2016 and 2018, she spoke before the United Nations General Assembly in New York City in support of Israel. In February 2021, Tishby joined the Black–Jewish Entertainment Alliance.
In April 2022, Tishby was appointed by then-Prime Minister Yair Lapid as Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism and the Delegitimization of Israel, the first person to serve in the newly created position. Her appointment to the position initially drew skepticism. She also registered as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). In April 2023, she was dismissed from the position after she spoke out against the judicial reform proposed by the new government of re-elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Act for Israel In 2011, Tishby founded Act for Israel, an online Zionist advocacy organization. Tishby created the group with a stated goal of correcting misinformation about Israel's history, culture, and governmental policies. In March 2011, Act for Israel arranged seven interviews of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) delegation with American blogs and radio shows, including RedState. Act for Israel later became defunct.
In 2025, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft reported on emails leaked by the Handala Hack Team, which indicated that Act for Israel's activities on behalf of Israel violated FARA, and that the scope and timeline of Tishby's pro-Israel work went beyond what she had disclosed when registering as a foreign agent. According to the Quincy Institute, "In public, Act For Israel appeared to be no more than a group of pro-Israel Americans advocating for a stronger U.S.-Israel relationship. But the leaked emails and documents show that representatives of the organization sought to shape U.S. public opinion while boasting privately of their intimate collaboration with the Israeli government".
Gaza war During the Gaza war, Tishby has been a leading Zionist voice in the U.S. On 10 October 2023, three days after the start of the war, Tishby was one of ten people appointed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen to advocate for Israel online during the war. The other nine team members were, Arsen Ostrovsky, Hen Mazzig, , Michael Dickson, , , Emily Schrader, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, and Michal Cotler-Wunsh. News sources in Hebrew:
Tishby has advocated for the return of hostages taken by Hamas, and criticized "so-called pro-Palestinian movements" in the United States. In late 2023, Tishby appeared in several videos with Mayim Bialik in which they rejected calls for a ceasefire. In January 2024, antisemitism scholar Anat Plocker, writing in The Nation, criticized Tishby for conflating criticism of Israel and Zionism with antisemitism. Plocker also critiqued Tishby's claims that pro-Palestinian protesters are secretly serving foreign governments that have "sent their tentacles" and that critics of Israel were "planted" at American universities, stating that these accusations themselves relied on antisemitic tropes. That May, Tishby posted a photo of Nahla Al-Arian, wife of political activist Sami Al-Arian, at Columbia University and falsely claimed she had been "convicted with connections to terrorism financing".
In an October 2025 interview with the National Post, Tishby stated that Israel had lost its public relations war.
On 22 October 2025, Tishby was featured as a speaker at the convocation ceremony at Liberty University.
In 2025, The Jerusalem Post included Tishby on their list of "50 Most Influential Jews", ranking 45th in a group entry of seven pro-Israel influencers.
In January 2026, Tishby appeared as a guest on the PBS program Firing Line with Margaret Hoover.
Eighteen Tishby founded the nonprofit media organization Eighteen in 2024, of which she is the CEO, describing its mission as being "to empower Jews and allies to be proud advocates of Israel, the Jewish community and Western values. Its mission is to fight antisemitism, defend Israel and inspire Jewish pride." In December 2024, Eighteen began producing a video project of menorah lightings where Tishby appeared alongside a different celebrity figure for each night of Hanukkah, with the series from December 2024-January 2025 featuring Gwyneth Paltrow, Mila Kunis, Mayim Bialik, Iliza Shlesinger, Van Jones, Cindy Crawford, Tiffany Haddish, and Gal Gadot. In 2025, Eighteen launched the Voices of October 7 speaking tour, which was hosted at six campuses in the United States. In 2026, Eighteen produced a kindergarten-grade 12 curriculum on Judaism and Israel titled "What is". On April 21, 2026, the Los Angeles Unified School District unanimously passed a motion to recognize May as Jewish American Heritage Month and to encourage the use of the curriculum developed by Tishby and Eighteen. In September 2026, under the auspices of Eighteen, Tishby launched the Voices of the Middle East college campus tour alongside Jonathan Elkhoury and Fatema Al Harbi.
Books In April 2021, Tishby released her first book, Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth. The book discusses the history and culture of Israel with autobiographical details. In the book, Tishby takes a Zionist stance and criticizes the BDS movement as it pertains to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The book was published by Simon & Schuster.
In 2024, Simon & Schuster published her second book on antisemitism, co-written with African-American activist Emmanuel Acho, titled Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew. The book won the Education and Jewish identity Award at the 74th National Jewish Book Awards.
Personal life Tishby is the granddaughter of Fania Artzi, one of the founders of the kibbutz at Degania, Hanan Yavor, an Israeli diplomat, and Nachum Tisch, who was a founder of the Israeli Ministry of Industry and Trade. Her mother, Yael Tishby, served as head of the food department at the Israeli Export Centre.
Tishby gained U.S. citizenship in 2008.
Tishby was married to Australian television presenter Osher Günsberg from 2008 to 2011. She later had a relationship with financier Ross Hinkle, which produced a son, Ari, born in November 2015. Tishby and Hinkle are no longer together, and co-parent Ari. Tishby is on good terms with both Günsberg and Hinkle.
In 2022, Tishby became the 11,000th signer of the Jewish Future Pledge, a charitable campaign modeled after The Giving Pledge to encourage American Jews to designate at least 50% of their charitable giving to Jewish- or Israel-related causes.
Tishby was awarded an honorary doctorate by Reichman University on June 4, 2024, awarded for having "made exceptional contributions to the State of Israel since October 7."
Filmography
As actress
Film Year Title Role Notes 1997 Hercules Megara Voice; Hebrew dub 2003 Connecting Dots Carrie 2004 Skeleton Man Sgt. Davis 2005 Fatwa Spy 2005 The Island Community Announcer 2009 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past Kiki 2025 October 8 Herself
Television Year Title Role Notes 1995 Ramat Aviv Gimmel Dafna Maor Supporting role (Israeli show) 2001 Shachar Dana Mazor Supporting role (Israeli show) 2003Miss Match Beverly Episode: "The Price of Love" 2003Coupling The Girl Episode: "A Foreign Affair" 2003The Drew Carey Show Rachel Episode: "Blecch Sunday" 2003CSI: Miami Gloria Tynan / Gina Cusack Episode: "Double Cap" 2003Nip/TuckJanelle Episode: "Mandi/Randi" 2004Star Trek: EnterpriseAmanda Cole Episode: "Harbinger" 2005Las VegasLisa Episode: "Whale of a Time" 2005The 4400Chloe Granger Episode: "Weight of the World" 2005CharmedBlack Heart Episode: "Malice in Wonderland" 2005CSI: NYPolly Part'em Episode: "Jamalot" 2009Big LoveLadonna 4 episodes 2009NCISDEA Agent Claire Connell Episode: "Truth or Consequences" 2009LeverageMikel Dayan Episode: "The Two Live Crew Job" 2009ValentineBast 4 episodes 2010The Deep EndRachel Blau Pilot 2015DigLiat 6 episodes 2018The AffairPsychologist 1 Episode2023Eretz NehederetCollege activist1 Episode
As producer Year Title Role Notes 2008–2010In TreatmentExecutive producer 106 episodes 2013Divorce: A Love StoryExecutive producer TV movie
See also List of combating antisemitism envoys
References
External links