Comedy

A promotional poster for Nidal Baderneh's show "Iron Kibbeh."

A Palestinian comedian walks into an Israeli interrogation room

Nidal Badarneh was arrested for joking about Israeli hostages. Yet when Israeli comedians joke about the war, or even killing Palestinians, no one bats an eye.

By Noam Shuster-Eliassi March 12, 2025

Noam Shuster-Eliassi. (Noam Shuster-Eliassi)

PODCAST: The Jewish comedian calling out apartheid in Arabic

From Tel Aviv to East Jerusalem and New York, Noam Shuster-Eliassi is using comedy to deliver home truths about injustice in Israel-Palestine.

By Natasha Soffer-Roth February 25, 2022

Palestinian comedian performs his routine during the 1001 Nights show in Bethlehem, August 14, 2015. (photo: U.S. Consulate General Jerusalem)

Arab-American comedians turn hardships into gags at West Bank festival

Thousands of Palestinians flock to Bethlehem, Ramallah and Jerusalem for the 1001 Laughs comedy festival where serious topics such as identity, stereotypes and the difficulty of air travel turned into comedy gold. On Friday afternoon Mo Amer stood under two looming globe-shaped light fixtures pouring heat over a makeshift stage at a Bethlehem hotel. The…

By Dahlia Scheindlin August 16, 2015

Latest

People holding Charlie Hebdo cover with Mohammed cartoon during a unity rally (Marche Republicaine), in which 50000 people paid tribute following the three-day killing spree in Paris, January 11, 2015. (Photo by Shutterstock.com/Hadrian)

On being murdered because some people can’t take a joke

If anything, satire in our society runs the risk of being too safe, of making its targets appear less dangerous than they really are. In cutting them down to size, satire sometimes humanizes as much as it disparages. By Don Futterman This week 17 French citizens were murdered because some people literally can’t take a…

By +972 Magazine January 13, 2015

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photo: Haim Zach/GPO)

‘Nation-state law’ may end Arab grip on Jewish-Israeli society [satire]

Public and private sector Arab leaders in Israel fear the new basic law could threaten their long-standing economic, cultural and political dominance in the Jewish state. (Satire) The Jewish Nation-State law, a new bill that the Netanyahu government is pushing through the Knesset could bring about the end to their political domination over Jews in…

By Ami Kaufman November 26, 2014

COMIC: Why even god can’t reach a two-state solution

By Eli Valley More from Eli Valley: A Passover lesson: ‘And then we were free’ Eli Valley is a writer and artist whose work has been published in New York Magazine, The Daily Beast, Gawker, Saveur, Haaretz and elsewhere. He is currently finishing his first novel. Eli’s website is www.EVComics.com and he tweets at @elivalley.

By +972 Magazine May 14, 2014

Leader of national-religious Jewish Home party Naftali Bennett (photo: Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org)

Bennett goes berserk in response to facts in German

Jewish Home leader and Economics Minister Naftali Bennett could not stand it when European Parliament President Martin Schulz criticized Israeli policy earlier this week. But what ticked him off even more was that Schulz told “lies,” such as that Palestinians have less water than Israelis – and in German! Apparently, Mr. Bennett can’t bear to hear…

By Ami Kaufman February 14, 2014

Image of Jon Stewart from The Daily Show (source: Comedy Central)

Jon Stewart: Holy “Promised Land” is in Canada

Just a few days after making headlines in the US for suggesting during his late-night faux news program that the Palestinians should be given a state already, Jewish-American host/comedian Jon Stewart decided to delve deeper into the debate. The background here is that all of this is happening in conjunction with the UN General Assembly…

By Roee Ruttenberg September 25, 2011