A New York comedy show on Monday aimed at bringing together communities from both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — which has wreaked havoc on American university campuses in particular over the past 14 months — was canceled amid anti-Israel backlash from comedians and activists.
The event, dubbed “Debate, Don’t Hate,” at Stand Up NY in Manhattan was designed to use the power of comedy to foster an open dialogue about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip — but organizers were forced to cancel the show after pro-Palestinian comedians withdrew from the roster.
“Thanks for reaching out, but I cannot share the stage with zionazzzis while my people and Arabs in the region are being decimated and genocided so Israelis can have beach houses in more land that’s not theirs,” Palestinian comedian Eman El-Husseini wrote to the organizers, using an apparent portmanteau for “Zionists” and “nazis.”
“Thanks tho! Free Palestine!” El-Husseini added.
At least 21 other comedians were asked to step up and fill the vacancies from the pro-Palestinian side, but refused to do so.
Libyan comedian Mohanad Elshieky in a post to Instagram also criticized the initiative, claiming the now-canceled show was a “little debate about why m*rdering children is wrong.”
“You can’t deny geno*ide and then come here and pretend to be the side interests [sic] in dialogue and be surprised when people refuse the invitation,” he said.
Activists also lashed out at the organizers, claiming that they were trying to “both-sides” genocide.
“Some comedy club in NYC is apparently putting on a ‘both sides’ night about Israel’s annihilation of Gaza … inviting me to help ‘build a more inclusive community,’ and like, sir,” Helen Rosner, a food correspondent for The New Yorker and pro-Palestinian activist, posted to Bluesky last week.
Organizer Robin Lemberg told The Post the intention was “not to debate genocide,” but to have humor illuminate opposing US views of the conflict.
“Humor is one of the most powerful tools we have to lower defenses and foster connection,” Lemberg said. “It disarms anger and fear, opening the door to conversations that would otherwise feel impossible.”
”The facts are that antisemitism is growing exponentially — not to diminish the rise of Islamophobia, as well — and that concerns me personally and feels awful for all of us,” she added.
Comedian Elon Gold, whose performances have been featured in Netflix specials and popular shows like “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” told The Post that canceling the show created a missed opportunity to move past the anti-Semitic dialogue toward a path of understanding.
”The whole point of comedy, besides the laughing part, is the unifying and the sharing of the human experience,” he said. “And if comedians on both sides of this can’t get their literal act together, I’m concerned for the rest of humanity.”
Historian Noam Weissman, host of the “Unpacking Israeli History” podcast, warned that the backlash demonstrates the Israeli-Palestinian “divisions that may become impossible to bridge.”
“Shutting down dialogue, refusing to engage in open conversation and rejecting to willingness to listen and learn from one another are not just obstacles — they are the forces that will erode the very foundation of our society,” Weissman said.
Moving forward, the organizers hope to try again to bridge the divide with future shows, because “nonviolent dialogue can create the conditions for lasting change.”
”Why not take a page from Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi and try another approach: listening instead of screaming at each other?” co-organizer Jon Bond suggested. “Both sides are 100% sure they are right, and no argument will convince either side to change.”
“We must choose between ‘being right’ and making a real difference,” Bond said.
