WATCH: Israeli Comedian Says ‘Wake Up And Smell The Apartheid’
Image by YouTube
In a searing monologue on Israel’s Channel 10, comedian Assaf Harel ended his “Good Night” show with a call to arms against his country’s occupation of the West Bank, which he framed as a dangerous human rights violation.
“We’re doing great and there are a couple million people we’re responsible for and they’re in an horrible state, infrastructure, food, healthcare, education,” he said, in the closing minutes of the last installment of his program. Almost 86,000 people have viewed the clip on YouTube.
“Ever since the right-wing took power, more and more voices are warning of apartheid. Are you kidding? Apartheid has been here for ages. It’s just that we’re on it’s good side, so it doesn’t really bother us,” he continued.
He went on to praise Israel’s human rights organizations, including B’Tselem, Breaking the Silence and Yesh Din, as “the most legitimate and healthy thing in Israeli society today.”
He also alleged that right-wing forces in the country based their political strategy on deflecting attention away from the occupation and settlement of the West Bank, which he said would be an unpopular endeavor if people realized its moral and financial costs.
Harel’s show was canceled after this season due to its low ratings, and the comedian had garnered a controversial reputation for his fiery criticism of the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
