Standup Comedy
Ray Hanania has viewed humor as an important component of effective communications. In fact, nothing is more powerful Han humor to impact and alter the perceptions of the public.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Hanania began performing standup comedy for audiences around the world, lampooning his life as an American-born Palestinian re-married to a Jewish wife. His purpose was to help Americans understand that Arab Americans are no different than any other ethnic American group and that media stereotypes about them were driven by ignorance, racism and inaccuracies.
After taking comedy classes with veteran comedian Dobie Maxwell, he began performing for local comedy clubs in the Chicagoland area and was immediately invited by Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago to perform as an opening act and feature act comedian (supporting the booked headliner at clubs).
In August 2002, he was invited by Zanies to headline his own 9-night show featuring his Arab American comedy. But weeks before the performances were to begin, the Zanies club manager asked if would mind allowing famed comedian Jackie Mason to perform during three of his shows so Mason could practice for a new opening act he was scheduled to do on Broadway. Hanania immediately agreed but when he told the manager to let Mason know he was Palestinian, he was lectured that “politics has nothing to do with comedy” and that Hanania should be a professional. But on the night of Mason’s opening act, his manager was informed that Hanania is Palestinian and a journalist and a critic of extremism in the Middle East including of Israeli and Arab governments. The manager and Mason asked that Hanania not be permitted to perform with Mason. Mason told the Associated Press that he knew Hanania was an Arab, but didn’t know that Hanania was Palestinian.
The decision to axe Hanania created an international controversy that was covered in media around the world — the Israeli-Palestinian conflict explored on a Chicago comedy stage … Israelis and Palestinian fight on comedy stage … Jewish comedy cuts Palestinian comedian … etc.
After appearing on the Today Show, Good Morning America, the CBS Morning News, Hannity and Colmes, ABC Evening News and on more than 3 dozen TV programs around the world including FOX News, WGN News, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and more, Hanania decided to launch a comedy performance that would showcase the need for Jews and Arabs to better understand each other.
In September 0f 2002, Hanania launched with a journalism colleague David Lewis “Comedy for Peace.” Despite moving forward with performances and the goal to create a documentary, performing before Jewish, American and Arab audiences around the country, the campaign collapse for lack of funding. In 2007, Hanania reached out to Israeli Comedian Charlie Warady, who grew up on Chicago;s South Side where Hanania also grew up and attended school, and invited Warady to partner in a new comedy venture, The Israeli Palestinian Comedy Tour. They invited Israeli comedian Yisrael Campbell and Second City Veteran and journalist comedian Aaron Freeman to join the troupe.
Israeli Palestinian Comedy Tour performers, Charlie Warady, Ray Hanania, Aaron Freeman and Yisrael Campbell.. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia and Amatai Sandy
The Israeli Palestinian Comedy Tour performed in West Jerusalem, Arab East Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Raanana, Hebron, Ramallah, and at other locations in Israel and Palestine, as well as touring American College campuses from 2007 through 2009 with the Jewish student organizations Hillel and MASA. The group performed at packed Thompson Hall auditorium in Toronto, Canada, and did two shows hosted by Jewish American organizations to raise money to support medical campaigns to help Children in Israel and Palestine in Long Island, New York. They also performed at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.
Hanania also performed for Arab and Muslim audiences in Dubai and in London.
In 2009, the tour ended as a result of lacking funding support to continue to cover the costs of bringing the two Israeli comedians to America to join performances. Since then, the comics have performed together in Houston and Austin, Texas, and individually throughout the world.
After performing with the Israeli Palestinian Comedy Tour, Hanania was banned from performing with most Arab American comedy organizations and ostracized by other Arab comedians because he “crossed the line” performing not only with Jews but with “Israelis.” Hanania was marginalized for agreeing to perform with Israelis and in Israel in violation of the extremist factions of the BDS movement.
Here is a video of Hanania who performed with Warady and Egyptian American Comedian Sherif at B’nai Yehuda Beth Shalom synagogue in Munster, Indiana in 2008.
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Email rghanania@gmail.com for information about booking.
Ray Hanania and Yisrael Campbell “fight” on a stage in Tel Aviv in a staged lampoon of the differences separating Arab and Jewish comedians.
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