Dateline: Israel.
I’m here with six comics as guests of the Israeli government for a stand-up comedy tour. The comics are a multicultural group of men and women from across Canada whose material ranges from safe to uncensored. The Israelis have never seen anything like it.
The tour is being shot for a documentary by Igal Hecht. The trip took almost three years to organize. I had to meet with a variety of government agencies, local philanthropists and sympathetic lobbyists before it came together. It was a lot of work, and the question everyone is asking is “Why?”
I was curious about how modern comedy might fare in a place where everyone speaks English but has had only a tiny exposure to North American comedy. Comedy has gone global, with comedy festivals in Australia, Dubai and South Africa. The Comedy Store out of the U.K. has opened up in Mumbai, and I hear it’s selling out nightly. So why not Israel?
The history of comedy has been so dominated by Jewish comedians it would seem to be the perfect fit.
In Jerusalem, religious Jews of varying levels of orthodoxy were at the shows, listening to words and ideas they rarely discuss in private, let alone in public. There were walkouts. But there were also big laughs. Tel Aviv was a different story. If Jerusalem celebrates the past and tradition, Tel Aviv is a modern, cosmopolitan metropolis.
Our shows there went very well, especially our last show — at Hesed House, a lovely Mediterranean villa — sponsored by the Gerald Schwartz/Heather Reisman foundation. The show was sold out, and the comics let loose, ending with gonzo comic Aaron Berg’s mock seduction of a woman in the front row, who turned out to be a high-ranking Canadian diplomat.
Comic Jean Paul made the best use of information gleaned from all our sightseeing, and was riffing on the eccentricities of Israeli culture. Ottawa’s Rebecca Kohler melted everyone’s hearts as she valiantly injected Hebrew phrases into her Gentile goddess act.
The Israeli acts were a bit timid, save for Kandi Abelson, a Montrealer who had moved to Tel Aviv a decade ago. She had an edge missing from the other local comics.
Kandi wasn’t the only comic who joined our merry band along the way. A Palestinian comic, Adi Khalefa, performed with us for some shows, and when his English improves, he may be a comic to watch out for. He’s moving to New York later this year.
We were also honoured to have Yisroel Campbell hit the stage on one of our shows. Campbell is an American who converted to Orthodox Judaism and created a smash Broadway hit, Circumcise Me, about his experiences.
Everyone connected with the trip had a unique agenda, and mine was to see if there were any ways to develop a presence in Israel for my brand. But the results were inconclusive.
It’s clear that they want to be part of the world of North American culture, but it’s a very long way to send comics.
The documentary will be seen on CBC next spring and will include the near-international incident we provoked when we played for the Palestinians in East Jerusalem.
Post City Magazines’ humour columnist, Mark Breslin, is the founder of Yuk Yuk’s comedy clubs and the author of several books, including Control Freaked.