Refused permit, US anti-Israel comedian accuses Singapore of censorship; regulators deny it
Sammy Obeid says he was told to ‘remove all mentions of Palestine and Israel’ despite handing in toned-down script, which local media authority says he didn’t submit in time
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A US comedian critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza has accused Singaporean authorities of censorship for refusing to grant a permit for his show, but regulators rejected his claims on Friday.
Sammy Obeid said in a social media post that his stand-up comedy performance in the city-state, scheduled for Sunday, was cancelled after regulator Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) did not issue a permit, despite him submitting a much toned-down script.
Aware of Singapore’s reputation for being strict, Obeid said that he “erred on the side of caution and submitted a heavily censored script that only referenced Palestine a few times” and mentioned Israel once, as he wanted the show to proceed.
“After waiting weeks and weeks, the script was rejected… I was told to completely remove all mentions of Palestine and Israel,” he said.
IMDA said Friday in response to an AFP query that Obeid made a number of “inaccurate” allegations.
The application for a license to hold the show was rejected because it was submitted only 10 working days before the event, a spokesperson for the authority said.
— Sammy Obeid (@SammyObeid) August 27, 2025
Applications are “required to be submitted at least 40 working days before the event, to allow sufficient time for applications to be processed or advisories to be included in publicity materials and advertisements,” IMDA said.
“IMDA had not requested for any edits to be made on the script. At no time, were ‘multiple edits’ requested,” the authority added.
Singapore, one of Asia’s safest countries, has strict regulations on topics like race and religion in a bid to maintain harmony among its ethnically diverse population that covers a Chinese majority, with substantial Malay and Indian minorities.
Israel and Singapore have long enjoyed close military ties. The IDF helped Singapore create its armed forces after the city-state became independent in the mid-1960s. Singapore tends to downplay its ties with Israel due to the city-state’s relationship with neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia, large Muslim nations that do not recognize Israel.
Obeid has said he plans to hold shows in other Asian locations, including Bali, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Tokyo.
I do this for an occupation pic.twitter.com/Nhtygb60EZ
— Sammy Obeid (@SammyObeid) August 21, 2025
The comedian, a former mathematics teacher who calls himself a “math-comic,” identifies on his website as a “Lebanese-Palestinian-Syrian-Italian-American born in Oakland, California.” In clips of his performances shared to social media, he has accused Israel of committing apartheid and genocide against the Palestinians.
Obeid told NPR in an interview in August that he has “been talking about… Israel-Palestine for maybe, like, 12 years before” the war in Gaza was sparked by the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.
The Times of Israel Community.