Event producer, author, DJ, and drummer Erez Safar wasn’t sure if he could beat the vibe of the last New York City comedy show in February, when 60 protestors caused some trouble before the event and police told them to disburse.
But the Los Angeles resident decided to organize “Laugh Through The Heartbreak,” a show featuring comedians and some musical performers to raise morale in the wake of the Hamas October 7 attacks.
The recent show at Rodney’s Comedy Club in Manhattan marked Safar’s fifth sold-out show after performances in other cities including Miami, Tel Aviv, and Los Angeles.
“When there were protestors, it was very intense and insane, and that show was awesome – and it was really great tonight,” Safar told The Jewish Press. “It was really emunah in practice and the energy was great tonight. I began these shows because I wanted to give people a bit of light amid the darkness we have seen.”
Each comic shined, discussing everything from recent attacks by Israel to the presidential election to dating.
A.J. Edelman surprised the crowd, telling them he was the first Orthodox Jew to compete in the Winter Olympics – and he wasn’t joking, as he became Israel’s first sliding competitor. He competed in the 2018 Games in South Korea and is an Israeli champion in the sport that is also referred to as skeleton/bobsleigh. He is training for the next one.
He told the 160 people who came that if they didn’t enjoy his set, his name was Alex Edelman, in reference to his brother who recently won an Emmy for the HBO Max recording of his hit show Alex Edelman Just For Us.
Noting Israel’s attacks against Hezbollah involving pagers and walkie talkies, Edelman joked that his agent told him a movie is being made called Pagercide and there are people shopping around the sequel Pagercide II: Walking Talkie Go Boom Boom! He also mimicked a terrorist calling his urologist for help, and said Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has lost many friends as “all his calls go to voicemail.”
Edelman told The Jewish Press he was invited to perform the day before and he decided he had to write new material with the historic nature of the attack.
Ami Kozak began his set by asking the crowd to give a hand for the people of Israel and marveled how they could be so “chill” when rockets from Iran were flying overhead. Kozak joked about the difference between American and Israeli customer service, as someone with ants in the room who complained in Israel would get a response of “how many?” Kozak is certainly the only person who can do impressions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
He got one of the biggest laughs of the night with an impression of Trump as a bar mitzvah boy giving a speech at a synagogue, bragging about being able to chant more prayers than another kid.
“Look at this synagogue, what a crowd,” he said in a Trump voice. “So much bigger than Levi Goldstein last week. What a loser! Levi Goldstein didn’t have the numbers. He did not have the numbers! I did my entire parsha, Shacharis, Mincha–Maariv, Musaf, haftorah. Levi did one aliyah. What a loser!”
His impression of Harris also got laughs.
Kozak told The Jewish Press he’s been working on his impressions of Trump and Harris for some time.
Kozak founded JSktech, which makes Jewish comedic videos, often related to holidays, with comedians Eli Lebowicz and Mikey Greenblatt.
Lebowicz, who performs across the country, took the stage and said that at one performance someone said he loved his act, wrongly thinking he had put on a fake personality.
“I love how you have this nebishy dorky persona on stage,” he recounted the fan as saying.
He said people wrongly criticize Israel and make false claims like apartheid, instead of fair criticism of Israel, like asking why it is the startup nation but still sells chocolate milk in a bag.
Comedian Zach Sage Fox spoke about how his video went viral when he went to Judea and Samaria and interviewed Palestinians who told him they supported Hamas and thought Israeli hostages should not be released.
Fox, who has 1.1 million TikTok followers for Zach&Ziggy, delivered an impressive high-energy set. He explained he was disappointed that “Gen Z has become Gen T,” as in terrorism, as he was mystified at how some online could comment not only that they agreed with Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, but that some disgustingly commented they thought the infamous terrorist was attractive.
Fox told The Jewish Press that after he interviewed Palestinians, he was forced to delete some of the footage but through some assistance he’s been able to get the footage back and will be releasing it. “I didn’t expect them to get so upset,” Fox said of his filming Palestinians. “I was just asking people questions, and I got threatened.”
The show was hosted by influencer Bianca Jade, who thanked some of the artists who have large social media followings for being openly pro-Israel even though it has resulted in losing followers. Jade herself has said she lost brand deals due to her pro- Israel stance.
Kosha Dillz, a rapper and comic whose real name is Rami Matan Even-Esh, got the crowd laughing mimicking his mother who talks in a thick Israeli accent. He joked that after he competed in numerous marathons, his mother used the wrong word and called him the “best racist.” He also told the crowd, which included many Jewish singles, that it is okay to be picky when dating.
The rapper said it’s been a new experience to interview people instead of being interviewed. Some of his videos have gone viral – including ones in which he interviewed anti-Israel protestors who revealed a lack of knowledge regarding some key facts.
Or Mash, who came from Israel to pursue a career in comedy in America, said when she first arrived people warned her not to speak Hebrew or talk about being Jewish because it was too dangerous. She decided to do so anyway. She joked about hanging out in Target and said she is glad to bring smiles to people’s faces.
“I believe laughter brings people together,” Mash told The Jewish Press. “My name, Or, means ‘light’ and I always try to bring people together, so to me it doesn’t matter if the times are crazy or not. I walk in authentically with a pure energy and I try to make people laugh, and I feel that people from all walks of life and backgrounds can feel that.”
