Making Peace Funny: Comedians Encourage Communication in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict October 6, 2009
Posted by style in : Style , trackbackAlex Hilton, Staff Writer
The StandUp for Peace comedy show Wednesday night was a huge success. The two comedians, SNL’s Dean Obeidallah and Comedy Central’s Scott Blakeman have created a comedy show bringing together people of all religions, including Israelis and Palestinians.
The show is designed to put people of different faiths in the same room and give them an hour of comedy to enjoy in each other’s company.
Following the show was a discussion about the purpose of the show as well as a question-and-answer session with the comedians.
The two friends came up with the idea to create the comedy show while on a bus in New York. The duo performed their set at George Mason University four years ago.
There has been an ongoing conflict between the Israeli and Palestinian people. Blakeman, an Israeli, and Obeidallah, a Palestinian, incorporate this into their show by bringing the two groups together and spreading a message that there can be peace through communication.
Both comedians had the audience laughing the entire show. This was even true during the discussion, where the duo answered questions ranging from their political views to which country they thought had the best hummus.
During the comedy section Scott Blakeman poked fun at Mason’s Presidents Park, asking, “Is there a Clinton dorm yet? ‘Cause that would be a fun dorm.”
Obeidallah had the crowd laughing when talking about the movie He’s Just Not That Into You and declaring, “I actually had my period during the movie.”
The show was a night to laugh at yourself and others in while driving home that by being optimistic about a peaceful end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, more people will support those trying to make that happen.
As the discussion drew to a close, Blakeman encouraged students to “find common ground on faith” and to “have fun together, anything to make peace.”
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