Comedians of Middle East conflict
Encyclopedia
Comedians of Middle East conflict are comedians who try to ease the tension of conflict by means of humor. Arab-American Palestinian
comedian and award-winning journalist Ray Hanania
and his companions from the Israeli–Palestinian Comedy Tour operate under the slogan: "If we can laugh together, we can live together".
The MidEastWeb Directory of Middle East Israel-Palestine Information Resources provides links to such shows. It says about "Israeli–Palestinian Comedy Tour": [it is] "To make you laugh. To make you think. To help end conflict in the middle east." It further describes "Stand Up For Peace" as "Scott Blakeman and Dean Obeidallah founded and produce Stand up For Peace, which presents Jewish and Arab-American comedians standing together for a non-violent, political solution to the Middle East crisis." "The American Muslim" journal ("TAM") mentions both shows as "general good news" "for Muslims in 2007"
and Yisrael Campbell
, two of whom live in Israel
.
The comedians perform around the world. The stage name of the group (officially Israeli–Palestinian Comedy Tour) changes depending on the place the show is given. While in West Bank
they are known as "Ray Hanania And Three Hostages", in Gaza
they made it simpler - "The Four Hostages". When they give shows in United States of America, they are "Three Jews And An Arab", and in Israel they are back to their official name. All of them support the Two-state solution
, but their opinions on the controversial issues about the status of East Jerusalem
and other issues alike are not clearly expressed.
All their performances are filled with sparkling jokes, satire
and humor about Middle East conflict that many believe is not a laughing matter. Comedians disagree. They believe that the laughter could lead to a better understanding between the opposite sides of the conflict.
Some of their jokes are prepared before the show while others are just improvisations as the show progresses. Once at the beginning of the show given in one of the Chicago
synagogue
s with mostly Jewish audience Hanania asked innocently: "How many Arabs are here tonight?" He held a pause during which the silent spectators looked puzzled... and then exclaimed: "Great security!" And the laughing erupted.
No joke is off-limits no matter how politically incorrect it might be. Waraday starts on 72 virgins in connection to suicide bombings. He asks what 57-years old menopausal grandmother who blew herself up not so long ago hoped to get in the Arab paradise:
Hanania together with his companion reasons:
While performing in Syndrome Theater in Jerusalem Hanania shared the story about his wedding ceremony with his Jewish bride:
When asked how he became involved with three Jewish comedians and Jewish humor
Hanania jokingly responded: "These guys stole our land, our homes, so I read a couple of books on Jewish humor, and I stole their jokes."
Comparing Israeli check points to toll plazas Charley Warady describes his experience with those:
Explaining how voters in Gaza ended up electing Hamas
he says:
Aaron Freeman jokes that "in the Comedy Tour all the Jews get along with “Ray”, but they all fight with each other."
. The men perform separately talking about everything from Patriot act to terrorism
and September 11 attacks. They like performing in front of students. After performance they take questions together.
At the show Obeidallah talks a lot about the difficulties he as a Muslim is facing in America after September 11 attacks. He says: "You know what it's like being Arab with a Muslim name living in America (after Sept. 11)? I need a hug!" He then ridicules the comments like that one for example: "Oh, you're an Arab - but you look so nice." He also talks about racism
using Timothy McVeigh
as an example of a white non-Muslim terrorist.
In the interview Obeidallah gave to AlArabiya.net he said: "In U.S. media we never see Arabs laughing or being funny in either the news or movies - instead they are usually depicted as scary!" He believes that humor is an important component that could help to break out stereotypes about Arabs.
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
comedian and award-winning journalist Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania is an Arab-American Palestinian Christian journalist also known for his stand-up comedy. Hanania writes a syndicated column with a particular focus on the Middle East, and after the September 11 attacks, created Comedians of Middle East conflict, a comedy act with the hope of defusing...
and his companions from the Israeli–Palestinian Comedy Tour operate under the slogan: "If we can laugh together, we can live together".
The MidEastWeb Directory of Middle East Israel-Palestine Information Resources provides links to such shows. It says about "Israeli–Palestinian Comedy Tour": [it is] "To make you laugh. To make you think. To help end conflict in the middle east." It further describes "Stand Up For Peace" as "Scott Blakeman and Dean Obeidallah founded and produce Stand up For Peace, which presents Jewish and Arab-American comedians standing together for a non-violent, political solution to the Middle East crisis." "The American Muslim" journal ("TAM") mentions both shows as "general good news" "for Muslims in 2007"
Israeli–Palestinian Comedy Tour
Israeli–Palestinian Comedy Tour is the show of an American-Palestinian Ray Hanania and three Jewish comedians Charley Warady, Aaron FreemanAaron Freeman
Aaron Freeman is an American journalist, stand up comedian, author, cartoonist and blogger.Freeman has performed with The Second City. As a stand up comedian, he is a member of the quartet the Israeli/Palestinian Comedy Tour...
and Yisrael Campbell
Yisrael Campbell
Yisrael Campbell is a Philadelphia-born Israeli comedian.Campbell, who is of Irish and Italian descent, grew up Catholic in a Philadelphia suburb. One of his aunts is a Catholic nun...
, two of whom live in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
The comedians perform around the world. The stage name of the group (officially Israeli–Palestinian Comedy Tour) changes depending on the place the show is given. While in West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
they are known as "Ray Hanania And Three Hostages", in Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
they made it simpler - "The Four Hostages". When they give shows in United States of America, they are "Three Jews And An Arab", and in Israel they are back to their official name. All of them support the Two-state solution
Two-state solution
The two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the consensus solution that is currently under discussion by the key parties to the conflict, most recently at the Annapolis Conference in November 2007...
, but their opinions on the controversial issues about the status of East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
and other issues alike are not clearly expressed.
All their performances are filled with sparkling jokes, satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
and humor about Middle East conflict that many believe is not a laughing matter. Comedians disagree. They believe that the laughter could lead to a better understanding between the opposite sides of the conflict.
Some of their jokes are prepared before the show while others are just improvisations as the show progresses. Once at the beginning of the show given in one of the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s with mostly Jewish audience Hanania asked innocently: "How many Arabs are here tonight?" He held a pause during which the silent spectators looked puzzled... and then exclaimed: "Great security!" And the laughing erupted.
No joke is off-limits no matter how politically incorrect it might be. Waraday starts on 72 virgins in connection to suicide bombings. He asks what 57-years old menopausal grandmother who blew herself up not so long ago hoped to get in the Arab paradise:
Hanania together with his companion reasons:
While performing in Syndrome Theater in Jerusalem Hanania shared the story about his wedding ceremony with his Jewish bride:
When asked how he became involved with three Jewish comedians and Jewish humor
Jewish humor
Jewish humour is the long tradition of humour in Judaism dating back to the Torah and the Midrash from the ancient mid-east, but generally refers to the more recent stream of verbal, self-deprecating, crude, and often anecdotal humour originating in Eastern Europe and which took root in the United...
Hanania jokingly responded: "These guys stole our land, our homes, so I read a couple of books on Jewish humor, and I stole their jokes."
Comparing Israeli check points to toll plazas Charley Warady describes his experience with those:
Explaining how voters in Gaza ended up electing Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
he says:
Aaron Freeman jokes that "in the Comedy Tour all the Jews get along with “Ray”, but they all fight with each other."
Stand Up For Peace
Stand Up For Peace is the name of the show performed by two men: a Jew Scott Blakeman and an Arab Dean ObeidallahDean Obeidallah
Dean Obeidallah is a Palestinian-American/Italian-American comedian, who was born in Lodi, New Jersey, and grew up in nearby Paramus. His father was born in Battir, Palestine- a small village near Bethlehem; his mother's parents were born in Sicily...
. The men perform separately talking about everything from Patriot act to terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and September 11 attacks. They like performing in front of students. After performance they take questions together.
At the show Obeidallah talks a lot about the difficulties he as a Muslim is facing in America after September 11 attacks. He says: "You know what it's like being Arab with a Muslim name living in America (after Sept. 11)? I need a hug!" He then ridicules the comments like that one for example: "Oh, you're an Arab - but you look so nice." He also talks about racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
using Timothy McVeigh
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...
as an example of a white non-Muslim terrorist.
In the interview Obeidallah gave to AlArabiya.net he said: "In U.S. media we never see Arabs laughing or being funny in either the news or movies - instead they are usually depicted as scary!" He believes that humor is an important component that could help to break out stereotypes about Arabs.