The world has become smaller for Jews and certainly for Israelis. Since 7 October 2023, many of us have been bombarded with anti-Jew hatred online and in person. We have lost friends – figuratively and literally – and, even if we are not facing rocket attacks ourselves, there is a heaviness and an unsettled feeling in our hearts.
Yohay Sponder, an Israeli stand-up comedian, wants us to raise our heads above the parapet. He wears a large Magen David because he knows it means lot to fellow Jews, and he wants to encourage everyone – not just Jews – to take pride in their identity. This is the reason he has called his first solo show, which he performs in London’s Leicester Square Theatre next month, Self-Loving Jew.
“I would love to encourage other people to be Jewish [outwardly] – don’t be in the closet. It’s a message of being confident in who you are – Jewish or not Jewish, no matter who you are, be out and proud. Show us who you are and we’ll accept that.”
Yohay says he realised the term self-loving Jew summarises his show. “My act is one story of what’s going on. Since what what happened to us as a people since October 7, I’m mocking the self-hating Jews who I truly think are damaging us. They’re hurting our spirit and they’re taking away a lot of our legitimacy too.” He is referring to people who say they are only anti-Zionist and not antisemitic, adding: “That just is not [compatible] – it’s not coming from a place of knowledge.”
Sponder, 42, is entreating us now to share our heritage. “We need to stay alive and we need to tell our story. These are the two things that I’m asking you, as my crowd member, regardless if you’re Jewish or not, but if you are, you have to stay alive in order to tell your story.”
He will then reveal his “Jewish story that took place a few years ago in London – what happened when we when we went there to perform and when we faced antisemitism and anti-Zionism in the same incident”.
That moment changed something in the way Yohay reflected on his identity, his nation, about Israel’s right to exist and about the ignorance of people, especially those from Britain, calling him a coloniser. “When you’re from Britain, that’s just very weird,” he laughs, “and [it shows a] lack of self-awareness… you’re unaware of your own history.”
A veteran on the Israeli comedy scene, Yohay started doing stand-up in English in 2012 mainly because, he says, he wanted to give his compatriots a voice. “We felt, as Israelis, unheard. I felt that doing English stand-up could help us give our point of view, also showing that we’re not just a nation in a war zone or just dealing with sad issues; we’re also funny and fun to be around.”
Yohay is not politically correct; a comedian friend advised him that in America (and by extension Britain) one can only make jokes about one’s own identity. So, he says in another comedic clip: “Whatever I am I can do,” sharing that he is half-Moroccan and half-Polish and proceeding to hilariously amplify his heritage in order to be able to tease everyone.
The world is indeed his stage but, he affirms, regardless of the locations in which he appears – and he has recently performed in Israel, America, Australia and Hong Kong – Jews now want to get together and laugh. His sister, Zohar Elimelech, writes with Yohay, for whom the role of comedy is to unite people. “It sounds like a beauty contest [answer], but I really believe that comedy can bring peace. Comedy is proven to bring different people together. [I’m going to] bring world peace with my comedy and I will do it because I’m an Israeli – there is nothing we cannot do!”
When asked what he is most looking forward to about the UK shows, Yohay says: “To be safe – I’d love to stay alive.” I wasn’t expecting that response, I tell him, to which he replies, chuckling: “Yeah, I’m joking and not joking at the same time. You know, Europe has been crazy recently. I don’t know what to expect. I remember times when you expected to have a good show and you just wanted people to laugh. Today, you just wish everyone is gonna be okay. A good show is if everyone survived the show!”
On a more serious note, he adds: “These people [in the audience] are my family; to see them getting together, laughing, having this relief from stress, I am happy and honoured to be the one who made that happen. And then I’m going on stage, I’m telling jokes, and this is just pure bliss.”
The feeling is mutual, Yohay Sponder, and we can’t wait for more of your shows.
Yohay Sponder performs at Leicester Square Theatre on Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 January. For tickets, visit leicestersquaretheatre.com
