And I’ve had to make a video to express my feelings on this weighty matter. Full LimmudLA report.
Tuesday. I have lunch at Pizza Station with two limmudla attendees who share my post-limmud letdown. We were high and giddy for a weekend.
Palestinian stand-up comic Ray Hanania (who said this weekend that as a consequence of this Israeli-Palestinian comedy tour, he’s lost all his bookings with Arab audiences) blogs Feb. 15:
Limmud is one of the world’s largest gatherings of religious Jews in the world and the Limmud LA chapter is meeting this weekend and featuring the Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour. We do two shows, one Saturday night and one Sunday night. And I give them credit for opening themselves up to prodding and poking by a Palestinian. They often have Jewish and Israeli humor but to open their doors to a Palestinian who “takes it to them” on stage — my comedy is getting sharper in the area of pointing a finger at Israel
— is very admirable and takes courage.
The tour has been tremendous thanks to MASA-Israel Journeys and their counterparts at Hillel at the campuses we have been touring. Although the University of Chicago’s extremist Arab community and extremist Jewish community was a disgrace, many Jews and some Palestinians attended the show regardless of the unofficial boycott from the University of Chicago’s extremist pro-Arab organizers. But the other campuses were phenomenal. Last nights show at the University of Washington at St. Louis was great, sponsored by MASA-Israel Journeys, Hillel and also the Students for Palestine and Israeli for Peace (SPIFP). We had a great audience, although the lighting was off a bit. Still, to have Arab and Jewish students come up and say how inspired they are was well worth the time.
The tour has opened more bookings and more shows, mostly among the Jewish American community, which I think is GREAT. I know many Arab American groups want the show and will eventually book it, but they have the “taboo” imposed by the fanatics to put up with, but little by little we are telling Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the other religious extremists to STFU! Mainstream Arabs and Palestinians want peace. They are tired of the BS failed leadership of their activists, tired of being hammered by extremist Israelis and tired of the violence on both sides. They want it to stop and they will stand up and argue that it is ONE PRINCIPLE FOR EVERYONE, not just Palestinians and not just Israelis.
— is very admirable and takes courage.