Noa Tohar Tishby (Hebrew: נועה טוהר תשבי; Hebrew pronunciation:[no'ʔatiʃ'bi]; born May 1975[4]) 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, which was revealed in 2025 to have collaborated with the Israeli government to shape coverage of Israel in American media, in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). 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,[5] in May 1975,[4] into a Jewish family involved in the establishment of Israel.[6] The kibbutz her grandfather co-founded was among the first in Israel's history.[6] Tishby began acting at an early age, appearing in commercials by age 8.[7] As a teenager, she earned a drama scholarship from the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and acted in several stage productions and television shows.[8] She also served two and a half years in the Israel Defense Forces.[7]
Career
Tishby began to achieve fame in Israel in the 1990s, appearing on the Israeli television drama Ramat Aviv Gimmel[5] and starring as Anita in a production of West Side Story at the Habima Theatre.[8][9] She released an English language album (Nona)[8] and appeared on magazine covers and billboard ads as a model.[5] In the early 2000s, she moved to Los Angeles.[7]
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.[10] The resultant American adaptation, In Treatment,[11] premiered in 2008 with Tishby as co-executive producer along with Mark Wahlberg.[12]
It ran for three seasons between 2008 and 2010, before returning for a fourth season in 2021 with Tishby still as co-executive producer.[13] The show, which follows a series of fictional therapy sessions, won a Peabody Award in 2009.[14] In the years during and after In Treatment's first run, Tishby continued to play roles on TV shows like NCIS and Big Love.[15][16]
Additionally, Tishby began pitching adaptations of other Israeli programs to American networks[17] through her production company Noa's Arc.[15] Tishby was responsible for the development of adaptations for A Touch Away,[17] as well as Life Isn't Everything,[18] which was renamed Divorce: A Love Story for the American version.[19]
Activism
Tishby has been an activist advocating for Israel since at least 2011.[5] 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."[5] She has called Amnesty International's characterization of Israel as an apartheid state "disgraceful".[20]
In 2014, she founded Reality Israel, which holds a series of "leadership trips" for Jewish and non-Jewish people in Israel.[21] In 2016 and 2018, she spoke before the United Nations General Assembly in New York City in support of Israel.[5] In February 2021, Tishby joined the Black–Jewish Entertainment Alliance.[22]
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.[23] She also registered as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).[24] 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.[25]
During the Gaza war, Tishby has been a leading Zionist voice in the U.S.[26] She has advocated for the return of hostages taken by Hamas, and criticized "so-called pro-Palestinian movements" in the United States.[24] In an interview with the National Post, she stated that Israel had lost its public relations war.[27] On November 29, 2025, Tishby was assaulted during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Paris. The footage she shared on her social media outlets shows a protester grabbing a phone belonging to a person with her and throwing it to the ground. Over the course of the rally, she reported being verbally abused, pursued by protesters, and subjected to explicit insults and hostile slogans directed at her and at Israel.[28]
In April 2021, she 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.[5] The book was published by Simon & Schuster.[21]
In 2024, Simon & Schuster published her second book on antisemitism, co-written with African-American activist Emmanuel Acho, titled Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew.[31]
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.[6][32] In March 2011, Act for Israel arranged seven interviews of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) delegation with American blogs and radio shows, including RedState.[24] Act for Israel later became defunct.[24]
In 2025, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft reported on leaked emails indicating 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.[24] 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".[24]
Personal life
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.[7][33][34]
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.[35]
↑משרד החוץ חושף: כך הוא פועל למען ההסברה העולמית[The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reveals: This is how it works for global outreach]. Ice www.ice.co.il (in Hebrew). Israel. October 10, 2023. Archived from the original on February 24, 2026. משרד החוץ מגייס את משפיעני הרשת הבולטים לטובת ההסברה הישראלית בעולם. המשפיענים שהצטרפו לבקשת שר החוץ: ארסן אוסטרובסקי, נעה תשבי, חן מזיג, טלי אשכולי, מייקל דיקסון, ג'ו זבולוני, נטלי דדון, אמילי שריידר, מיכל קוטלר-וונש ופלר חסן-נחום.[The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is recruiting prominent online influencers to benefit Israeli outreach around the world. The influencers who joined at the Foreign Minister's request: Arsen Ostrovsky, Noa Tishbi, Chen Mazig, Tali Eshkoli, Michael Dixon, Joe Zevuloni, Natalie Dadon, Emily Schrader, Michal Kotler-Wensch, and Fleur Hassan-Nahum.]
↑Klein 2023: "Among the influencers who have heeded the call are: Arsen Ostrovsky, international human rights lawyer and digital diplomacy advocate; Noa Tishby, actress, producer, and activist for Israeli causes; Chen Mazig, writer, speaker, and LGBTQ-rights advocate; Tali Eshkoli, event organizer and social media specialist; Michael Dickson, executive director of the Stand With Us advocacy organization; Joe Zevuloni, community organizer and social media personality; Natalie Dodon, former model, digital content creator, and cultural commentator; Emily Schrader, digital media strategist and pro-Israel advocate; Michal Cotler-Wunsh, legal expert and social justice advocate; Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Jerusalem municipal politician and public relations expert."
↑"50 MOST INFLUENTIAL JEWS 2025". The Jerusalem Post. Israel. 2025. Archived from the original on September 21, 2025. 45. Gal Gadot, Arsen Ostrovsky, Siggy Flicker, Hen Mazzig, Hillel Neuer, Noa Tishby, Eyal Yakoby: From Hollywood stars to human-rights lawyers, seven pro-Israel influencers share a commitment
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
