Satire has found a role amidst the tragedy of the Israel-Hamas war. AILSA CHANG, HOST: What is the role of humor at a time of war? Well, that’s a question Israeli and Arab comedians and writers are grappling with now during the Hamas-Israel war. NPR’s Daniel Estrin reports on the ways they’re embracing satire to express their grief and anger, often with language that makes audiences pay attention.
The opening sketch is an officer calling up troops – “anarchists, Netanyahu supporters, traitors, racists?”The joke’s on themselves. It takes a war for Israelis to set aside their bitter rivalries. Executive producer Muli Segev convened his writers’ room the day after Hamas attackers killed around 1,200 people. Some of his staff’s relatives were killed. “We knew that if we will let ourselves, you know, sink into despair and be depressed, it would be very, very hard to – you know, to come out of,” Segev said. The Israeli satire show is usually known for its liberal politics and irreverent mocking of the government. For their first show during this war, they were cautious. The show had a sketch mocking a BBC broadcast. “Eretz Nehederet” – “A Wonderful Country” is Israel’s version of “Saturday Night Live”. The Israeli satire show is usually known for its liberal politics and irreverent mocking of the government. For their first show during this war, they were cautious. The show had a sketch mocking a BBC broadcast.
In Gaza, dark humor has always helped Palestinians survive between the wars, but now there is no comic relief, with more than 11,000 people killed in Israeli bombings and fresh horrors every day – food and water running out, people spending their days trying to survive. Outside Gaza, one Arabic website is employing satire. Palestinian Isam Uraiqat runs a popular site with other Arab writers around the region. It’s called Alhudood, or The Limits. It’s a spinoff of The Onion. He says their satire challenges narratives. The site has a picture of the German chancellor with the satirical headline, “We’ll Deal With The Guilt After The Palestinian Genocide Is Over.” Piers Morgan had an Egyptian comic, Bassem Youssef, on his show recently with sardonic humor about his wife, who has family in Gaza. There’s one Israeli writer with a different approach.
Hen Avigdori faced a devastating tragedy when three of his relatives were killed and seven are now hostages in Gaza. Yet recently, he was asked to help produce an emergency talk show for Israeli TV to help lift up spirits. The show was called “Strong Together.” It aired about a month into the war. He says there were laughs and tears. He says laughing makes his life more bearable.