# 'They Make Genocide Jokes’ - Meet the Jewish-Israeli Comedian Fighting For a Free Palestine Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM1yLKrOLVk Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/HM1yLKrOLVk Generated: 2026-01-07T14:35:19.728+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview Israeli comedian Noam Shusta Eliasi discusses her profound heartbreak over the normalization of genocide jokes within Israeli comedy circles following October 7th, contrasting this with her lifelong activism rooted in growing up in the unique Jewish-Palestinian village of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, and advocating for political action over mere coexistence. **Key Points:** - Noam Shusta Eliasi reports experiencing "a heartbreak especially here in Israel with comedy" where comedians actively make "genocide jokes and people laugh." - Shusta Eliasi grew up in Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, "the only place where Jews and Palestinians live together by choice," modeling an alternative to the mainstream Israeli narrative. - She criticizes the mainstream "peace community or the coexistence community in Israel" for having "failed miserably," arguing that peace requires justice first, not just empty words. - Her own background includes being a tiny minority with her political views, being the daughter of Iranian and Romanian Jewish parents, and speaking fluent Hebrew and Arabic, which sometimes led to suspicion from Israeli intelligence officers. - Shusta Eliasi transitioned to comedy because she saw it as a powerful, uncensored tool to reach millions, unlike her previous work at the UN where she felt censored. - She notes that after October 7th, even in protest movements for hostage release, there was a demand among some Israelis to avoid discussing Gaza, reflecting a societal "blindness to the elephant in the room." - Shusta Eliasi asserts that it is time for "very very brave conversations about Zionism" because Zionist practices inflicted harm on Jews who were not from the "right place," which informs what has been done to Palestinians. **Context:** The transcript features an interview between host Miy Hassan and Israeli comedian and activist Noam Shusta Eliasi, discussing her work, her unique upbringing, and the current political and cultural climate in Israel, particularly following the events of October 7th. Shusta Eliasi is known for her documentary "Coexistence My Ass," which explores her life in Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, a village founded on Jewish-Palestinian partnership, contrasting this ideal with the harsh political realities she observes in Israeli society and comedy. ## Detailed Analysis Noam Shusta Eliasi details the intense backlash and disillusionment she feels regarding the trajectory of Israeli society and its cultural output, specifically noting that many Israeli comedians have joined the propaganda machine since October 2023, making jokes about starving Gazans and normalizing genocidal humor, which she attributes to decades of dehumanization of Palestinians. Her perspective is shaped by growing up in Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, where her parents actively chose to live as equals with Palestinians, a model she now views critically as the broader coexistence movement has failed, leading her to embrace comedy as a means of uncensored political expression rather than relying on traditional activism or UN reports. Shusta Eliasi recounts daily encounters with normalized racism, such as a shoe store employee casually referencing hospitals having "so many Arabs there," which deeply affected her, especially while pregnant. Furthermore, she discusses the difficulty of maintaining dialogue in her village post-October 7th, noting that while Jewish residents expected comfort from their Palestinian neighbors, the Palestinians—who face severe threats for speaking out—were already grappling with familiar pain from massacres and displacement. She concludes that conversations must now move beyond coexistence to brave discussions about Zionism itself, citing the example of Mizrahi activists like Ruven Abargil to highlight how Zionist practices harmed Jews from non-European backgrounds, analogizing this to the suffering inflicted upon Palestinians. ### Comedian's Critique of Israeli Culture - Experiencing heartbreak over Israeli comedians making "genocide jokes" and people enjoying them - Contrast between her political activism and the mainstream "coexistence community" which has "failed miserably" - Shusta Eliasi uses comedy to uncensor herself and reach millions, unlike her time at the UN. ### Upbringing in Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam - Grew up in "the only place where Jews and Palestinians live together by choice" between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv - Her parents actively chose to live as equals, with her father refusing military service in occupied territories - She felt a huge sense of responsibility, becoming a poster child often meeting figures like Hillary Clinton and Jane Fonda. ### Post-October 7th Realities - Knew immediately that Israel's reaction would be "truly unique and horrific" and genocidal in scale - Many Israelis, including former leftist allies, became receptive to fake news and propaganda drowning out real information from Gaza - Protests for hostage release often shut down discussion regarding Gaza, showing societal blindness to the core issue. ### Critique of Peace Industry and Zionism - The peace movement's focus on democracy often ignored the occupation and denial of rights to millions of Palestinians, similar to US liberal blindness - Explicitly states that coexistence does not happen between the oppressor and the oppressed - Urges conversations about Zionism, noting that Zionist practices harmed non-right-place Jews just as they harmed Palestinians.