Multiculturalism Welcome! (Israelis Excluded)

Two of Israel's biggest comedians were canceled by theaters in Australia.

The word “canceled” used to be a verb. These days, it’s used as a description.

Two of Israel’s top comedians, Yohay Sponder and Shachar Hason, booked a six-show tour in Australia in early 2023, scheduled to take place in October 2023. When the Oct 7 massacre occurred, Sponder and Hason rescheduled their tour for the end of February, 2024.

Two weeks before the comedians were scheduled to fly out to Australia, their producer received an email from Palace Cinemas, a theater company that was created in the 1960s. Palace Cinemas owns dozens of theaters across Australia, including The Chauvel Cinema in Sydney, and The Astor Theater in Melbourne. The email referenced “concerns” the parent theater company had regarding a range of issues, from security concerns to content on Sponder and Hason’s Instagram pages that they felt were objectionable. The company didn’t mention canceling the show in the email, they just vaguely cited their concerns.

In typical Israeli fashion, the comedians responded to the email with a request for them to get to the point. Are they canceling the shows or simply sharing what was on their mind that day? The response the comedians received confirmed their suspicions, and the shows were canceled at the last minute due to the concerns mentioned in the original email. They also added in a statement to Sky News that they “did not feel it was appropriate to be hosting events that comedically reference the current and ongoing conflict in Gaza.”

Theater For Me and You, Unless You’re a Jew?

Sponder and Hasons’ comedy has acted as a much-needed release valve for stressed and traumatized Israelis and Jews all over the world. The Jewish people both inside and outside of Israel are deeply hurting for all the horrific losses the tiny state has endured this year. Jews in the Diaspora are worried for their brothers and sisters in Israel while facing growing displays of blatant antisemitism. These times are rough, but the Jewish people have survived everything up until now, by the grace of God and with a deep love for life. “Am Yisrael Chai,” a popular Jewish song and motto literally means “The Nation of Israel Lives”. And the Nation of Israel DOES live, in the most passionate and active sense of the term. A big part of the love for life includes laughter, even through the darkest moments.

Yohay Sponder and Shachar Hason, along with other brilliant comedians across the Jewish comedy scene have provided that release of laughter to pained and worried communities. The comedians remind the Jewish people and supporters of Israel what it is we’re fighting for, while giving the people space to acknowledge what they’re going through, alongside others in the same boat.

A quick look at Palace Cinema’s website shows how much they value “multicultural influences” and how guests will feel these influences “throughout our venues.”

Apparently, the eager acceptance of “multicultural influences” excludes performances from the only Jewish state, even though thousands of tickets were bought by fans of Israeli comedy who badly need the outlet. Other countries welcome.

Adding insult to injury, Aston Theater of Palace Cinemas proudly presents shows with “values” such as these:

Moving Forward

After recieving the cancellation email, Sponder and Hason decided to move ahead with the trip and stick with the remaining theaters that kept their show on the calendar, while dealing with the mess of cancelling a show that already had ticket holders and trying to find space to acommodate audiences in other venues.

While performing at their popular Funny Monday comedy show in Tel Aviv, Sponder and Hason told the audience about the cancelations from Australia, and jokingly asked the crowd if anyone has a venue in Sydney or Brisbane. In a wild turn of events, an owner of a theater called Ritz Cinemas was actually in the audience and offered his venue to the comedians at a discount.

Jewish Solidarity

The few shows that Sponder and Hason managed to pull off have been a huge success. Sponder described the scene in the lobby before the shows as its own kind of event, with Jewish people and supporters of Israel from all over gathering together, sharing experiences and feeling relief at being able to let their guard down while among friends. The atmosphere is tense these days, and many audience members reported experiencing antisemitism in recent days, and expressed appreciation to the Israeli comedians for coming out and holding the event. Sponder and Hason received a flood of messages after the event, with some audience members saying it’s the first time they laughed in months, and others saying it was better than therapy.

The Jewish people continue to love life while facing worldwide hardships, and the Funny Monday duo’s story is a testament to that.

Sponder and Hason were interviewed on the story here:

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