Chicken soup for the funny bone at UK Jewish Comedy Festival

LONDON — A grumpy commenter on the Guardian website this week was obviously unhappy with the whole concept of Britain’s first Jewish comedy festival, questioning the need for it. What was it for, he wondered. “Is there any distinct difference in the day to day lives of a British Jew and a British non-Jew?”

Quick as a flash another commenter posted: “Most definitely there is. It’s called chicken soup.”

Whether the Guardian commenter likes it or not, the festival launches this Saturday night at London’s JW3 cultural center with a week-long program of Jewish humor, tailored to the unique sensibilities of an Anglo-Jewish audience.

The project is the brainchild of Raymond Simonson, chief executive of JW3, which first opened its doors last year.

“I love comedy and I was brought up on American Jewish comics, from Milton Berle to Woody Allen. I think Jewish humor is very important in saying who we are as a people, from persecution in ghettoes or Stalinist Russia. We’ve usually found something funny to say about it,” says Simonson.

Simonson is a devotee of the well-established UK Jewish Film Festival and the annual Jewish Book Week.

“What I like about them is that they allow everyone to celebrate Jewish culture, not just in the synagogue or the home. And the obvious thing that was missing was Jewish comedy,” says Simonson.

There are many Jews working in Britain’s entertainment industry – but for cultural and historical reasons, very few openly identify themselves as Jews. The festival, says Simonson, is an opportunity to set that straight.

“Most Jewish comedians in the UK keep their heads down about their identity on stage. I can’t imagine black comedians or Asian comedians not taking the mickey out of their own ethnicity in their act. Now a new generation here is saying, enough. Let’s be out, loud and proud about who we are,” says Simonson.

Giving him enthusiastic backing are two of Britain’s most successful Jewish comedians, writers and actors, David Baddiel and David Schneider. Baddiel’s film “The Infidel,” about a Muslim who discovers he is really Jewish, has just been turned into a West End stage show. He gets more flak than most for his aggressive claiming of his identity.

“I can’t bear that Anglo-Jewish let’s-not-make-too-much-of-a-fuss attitude,” Baddiel says. His Twitter bio is simply “Jew.”

“I get all kinds of attacks from people who say, oh yeah, let’s hear it again about you being Jewish,” Baddiel says, adding drily, “I don’t suppose black comedians get that kind of response.”

David Schneider thinks that Britain is a generation behind American Jewish confidence when it comes to talking about identity on stage.

“I am schizophrenic on this. I have a Jewish act for Jewish audiences, and a non-Jewish act, and there is barely a joke that works across the two,” says Schneider.

‘I have a Jewish act for Jewish audiences, and a non-Jewish act, and there is barely a joke that works across the two’

The two “hotspots” for Jewish comedians are, of course, the Holocaust and Israel. Schneider, whose mother was a survivor, has performed material about the Holocaust but is aware of its dangers.

“Once, about 20 years ago, I was handed a note backstage before I went on. It was from a busload of Auschwitz survivors and they wanted me to say hallo to them during my act. I thought, ‘What can I say? Anyone in the house from Auschwitz tonight?’ It’s awkward, but interesting material,” says Schneider.

One comedian who suffered directly from attitudes towards Israel is Bennett Arron, whose “schtick” is that he is both Welsh and Jewish. During the summer’s violence in Gaza and Israel, Arron found himself being booed onstage when he announced he was Jewish, and several corporate gigs were cancelled. In response he has put together his own “Rabbi Santa Comedy Night,” consisting entirely of Jewish comedians and due to play in London on December 22.

Gareth Berliner, who, with actress Rachel Mars, has conceived the programming for the JW3 comedy festival, believes the problem is an assumption by the audience of what a Jewish comedian thinks. Example: “I did a joke in my stand-up act about a particular drug I once took. My non-Jewish friends wondered if it were kosher.”

But more seriously, he says, people assume that because a comic says he or she is Jewish, they must automatically be strong Zionists or supporters of the State of Israel. It’s not something he’s comfortable with.

Berliner is the MC of the JW3 monthly comedy club night, Hava Nagiggle, and books many comedians, Jewish and non-Jewish, for the shows. On one hand, Berliner says, he won’t censor material, but will warn his comics that “if you talk about Israel and its crimes, you will die onstage for 20 minutes.”

On the other hand, Berliner himself refused an approach from Britain’s UJIA, the fundraising arm of the Jewish Agency, to take over a Hava Nagiggle club night. “I felt, politically, I wouldn’t put my acts in the position of raising funds for Israel.” And, he says, using the words deliberately, “the UJIA just wanted to bulldoze and occupy our event.”

David Baddiel is more equivocal.

“There is no question that for many, the focus of Jewish identity lies in whether a person is anti- or pro-Israel. I hate that this gets in the way. But I also hate anti-Semitism and I see rabid anti-Semitism spilling over from anti-Zionism, and I must admit that on this issue I don’t know where to place myself,” says Baddiel.

What Berliner does say about Jewish comedy in Britain is that the audiences are very tough. They come in to JW3, fold their arms, and say, “Go on, entertain me.” All his non-Jewish comics say that JW3 is a very hard gig. But he and Simonson are optimistic that a week of laughs and gags will alter perceptions.

Among the treats in store is a set in Hebrew by the Israeli stand-up Odelia Yakir; a contest for Jewish comedian of the year; an all-star line-up from the best of the Hava Nagiggle club nights, including the dry Scot, Arnold Brown; the return of the fake lounge lizard, Lennie Beige (his real identity is actor and comedian Steve Furst), with a tribute to the singer Anthony Newley.

There will also be a set by the admittedly American Ruby Wax, and, with thanks to director Rob Reiner and the estate of Nora Ephron, a live read through of the seminal film, “When Harry Met Sally.”

And now, a joke from Raymond Simonson. “A man walks into a shop and it’s full of mezuzot. They’re on every shelf, floor to ceiling, on window-sills, on the carpet. Boy, he says to the shop-owner, you must really sell a lot of mezuzot. No, says the owner. But the guy who sold me the mezuzot, can he sell mezuzot!”

Raymond Simonson will not be appearing at the first UK Jewish Comedy Festival. It opens at London’s JW3 Centre on Saturday November 29 and runs until December 7.