jewish comedians

Sarah Silverman at a photo op for Hulu's "I Love You America" at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, Oct. 11, 2017. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images via JTA)

October 15, 2019, 7:33 pm

Sarah Silverman films late-night pilot series for HBO

Jewish comedian says show will feature commentary ‘on the mishigas of the week’ and that no topic is ‘off the table’

By Marcy Oster

Josh Gondelman's new book is 'Nice Try: Stories of Best Intentions and Mixed Results.' (Mindy Tucker/via JTA)

October 7, 2019, 4:09 am

Josh Gondelman is the nicest guy in comedy

The comedian’s book, ‘Nice Try: Stories of Best Intentions and Mixed Results,’ out this past Tuesday, draws on Judaism to illustrate the contrast between ‘niceness’ and ‘goodness’

By Emily Burack

Chloe Fineman is one of the newest members of "SNL." (Chloe Fineman/Instagram via JTA)

September 13, 2019, 1:04 am

SNL adds Jewish comedian Chloe Fineman for upcoming season

The comic is one of three new faces on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ including the show’s first Asian-American cast member

By Emily Burack

Andy Kindler has frequently referenced the Holocaust in his comedy. (Courtesy of Just for Laughs/via JTA)

August 10, 2019, 4:46 am

Jewish comic Andy Kindler says Donald Trump is the joke that keeps on giving

‘Comedy in the Reagan era pales in comparison,’ the ombudsman of stand-up tells peers at Just for Laughs in Montreal, calling the president’s ‘racism’ an inspiration for humorists

By Steve North

Comedian Elon Gold talks at John Jay College in New York, February 26, 2017. He has incorporated Jew-hatred into his comedy sets for years. (Shahar Azran/Getty Images/via JTA)

July 27, 2019, 6:17 am

Jewish comedians aim to deflate modern anti-Semitism with laughs

‘The only way we can fight them is by mocking them and exposing the ignorance of their bigotry,’ said Elon Gold ahead of the July 22 Just for Laughs festival in Montreal

By Steve North

Netflix's Historical Roasts host Jeff Ross wore a yellow armband with a Star of David on it in an episode about Anne Frank, May 27, 2019. (YouTube screenshot)

June 13, 2019, 11:40 am

Jewish comedian Jeff Ross defends Netflix roast of Anne Frank

‘You can’t take back the lives lost, but by making Hitler and the Nazis a joke, I think that’s a victory,’ comic says day before what would have been famed diarist’s 90th birthday

By Josefin Dolsten

May 28, 2019, 4:18 pm

Rachel Wenitsky is the Jewish queen of satire

The writer, actress, and podcaster talks about her inspiration, how Judaism has influenced her comedy, and that time she made her bat mitzvah Torah reading into a pop diva concert

By Arielle Kaplan

Collage of Ester Steinberg. (Alma via JTA)

April 26, 2019, 11:11 pm

Ester Steinberg’s ‘Hebrew School Dropout’ is the comedy album of our dreams

Stand-up’s new release fluctuates between sex jokes and bits about weed, but during the 50 minutes of comedic gold, one theme remains the same — her Jewish identity

By Arielle Kaplan

Venezuelan-American comedian, writer, and actress Joanna Hausmann during an interview in Central Park in New York on April 17, 2019 (Don Emmert / AFP)

April 22, 2019, 1:34 pm

Venezuelan comic of Jewish descent pokes fun at stereotypes

Red-haired tornado of energy Joanna Hausmann likes to explore how puzzled Americans are when she says she’s Latina

By Laura BONILLA

Lil Dicky, real name Dave Burd (FX via JTA)

March 12, 2019, 6:12 am

Comedic rapper Lil Dicky getting his own FX show

David Burd’s program will be centered on a ‘suburban neurotic man in his late 20s who has convinced himself that he’s destined to be one of the best rappers of all time’

By JTA

February 28, 2019, 1:04 am

These 7 Jewish comedians prove moms are really, really funny

The beloved character Mrs. Maisel may be fictitious, but luckily there are real life Jewish stand-up ‘momedians’ who prove that women can be hilarious — and exemplary parents

By Arielle Kaplan

Jerry Seinfeld speaks onstage during the 2017 New Yorker Festival at New York Society for Ethical Culture in New York City on October 6, 2017. (Craig Barritt/Getty Images for The New Yorker/AFP)

February 2, 2019, 6:50 am

Seinfeld sued over sale of Porsche alleged to be fake

Buyer claims vintage 1958 car purchased at auction for $1.54 million was falsely advertised as being a ‘rare thoroughbred’

By Larry Neumeister

Abbi Jacobson, left, and Ilana Glazer star in 'Broad City.' (Jason Nocito; 'Seinfeld' photo: George Lange/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; Woody Allen photo: Screenshot from 'Annie Hall'; collage by Emily Burack/70 Faces Media)

January 25, 2019, 3:17 am

How ‘Broad City’ redefined American Jewish identity

For better or for worse, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer trade 20th century neurosis for a hearty dose of brazen millennial chutzpah

By Elana Spivack

Jewish Vietnamese comic Joe Nguyen is one of the comedians headlining the 2018 Kung Pao Kosher Comedy shows, a Bay Area tradition. (Courtesy, Kung Pao Kosher Comedy/via JTA)

December 24, 2018, 3:28 am

He’s Vietnamese, Jewish, and performing Christmas Eve at a Chinese restaurant

Joe Nguyen is among a bang-up cast of comics in Kung Pao Kosher Comedy — a show started in 1993 as a response to the age-old question, ‘What are Jews supposed to do on X-mas?’

By Robert Nagler Miller

Visitors at the "Let There Be Laughter – Jewish Humor Around the World" exhibit at the Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot on August 13, 2018. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

December 15, 2018, 4:58 pm

From ‘Borscht Belt’ to Borat, museum celebrates Jewish comedy

To celebrate its exhibit ‘Let There Be Laughter – Jewish Humor Around the World,’ Museum of the Jewish People releases list of 15 most memorable moments in Jewish comedic history

By TOI staff