Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Israel News

A Comedy of Biblical Proportions

Following in the footsteps of Mel Brooks and Monty Python, a top Israeli comedy troupe is turning its attention to the Bible.

Heading to the big screen for its feature-film debut, the cast of the Israeli hit TV show “Eretz Nehederet” (“A Wonderful Country”) is taking on a story not widely known for its comic dimensions: depravity and mass death during the final days of Sodom.

In “This Is Sodom,” scheduled for August release, the original Sin City is resurrected in all its degenerate glory, portrayed as a town where popular pastimes include gambling, participating in orgies and pushing old ladies out of wheelchairs.

Starring Abraham, Lot and one soon-to-be pillar of salt, the spoof takes liberties with its source material, giving Lot’s wife a back story as a former Canaanite pop star. (Lot and his wife share a daughter named Charlotte, who wants to study abroad in Beersheva.)

The city’s marketplace is portrayed as a true epicenter of sin, with merchants hawking “lamb in its mother’s milk,” and — this may not be directly from in the Bible — DVDs to watch on Yom Kippur.

The movie marks something of a new direction for both “Eretz Nehederet” and Israeli film.

Known for its brutal impersonations of Israeli politicians, the TV show — a loose equivalent to “Saturday Night Live” — has previously restricted itself to the small screen, where it broke through as a ratings juggernaut after its 2003 debut.

The subject matter also marks a change of pace. Israel’s movie industry has generally left biblical epics to Hollywood because of financial constraints.

Funded by a consortium of production companies and distributors, “This Is Sodom” makes use of Israel’s historical landscape, shooting outdoor scenes in the Judean desert, not far from the site of the real Sodom.

In a twist worthy of a skit on “Eretz Nehederet,” interior scenes were shot at a studio in Bulgaria, as part of an effort to lower costs.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.