‘Comedy for Peace’ Gets Giggles at MJCCA
Van Chasri, Kahn, Angel and Marshall’s goal was to spread good feelings by laughing at themselves, and some audience members, too.
After 37 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and now with the AJT, , Jaffe’s focus is lifestyle, art, dining, fashion, and community events with emphasis on Jewish movers and shakers.
“A priest, a rabbi and a mullah walk into a bar …”
Modern culture has changed that joke. On Sunday night, Feb. 16, the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta (MJCCA) and Neranenah sponsored “Comedy for Peace,” where four diverse comedians performed their best schtick. Emcee Tehran Van Chasri, Steve Marshall, Zara Khan, and Erik Angel composed the raucous rainbow of faiths and styles.
Tehran, who flew in from L.A. and was the most well-known of the group, explained that his father was Iranian, mother was Black, and grandparent was Jewish. He was bar mitzvahed and went on Birthright. He has to explain to his Black friends that challah is “just like cornbread.” He said, “Here I am, half Negro, half terrorist at airport security getting a ‘colonoscopy’ type of screening … my grandmother used me as her Shabbas goy until I was 18.”
He described walking with his Chabadnik best friend and his 14 kids, and getting paint thrown on him by a “Free Palestine” protester. Overall, his message was, “Have an open mind. Why is there so much hate?”
TUMS has saved more Jews than Oscar Schindler.
Next up was Israeli Erik Angel who also served as tour organizer. He mimicked Israeli stereotypes, shouting loudly to one another, having a “falafel accent.” His funniest bit was about getting a cab in Alabama where he assumed the accented driver was a Muslim, so he pretended to be Syrian. Later, they discovered that they were both Israelis.
He said, “With all the antisemitism, I’m going to Alaska to join the ‘chosen frozen’ … it’s easy to convert to Islam, we cannot ‘unsubscribe’ to Judaism.”
He ended up with traditional bits about his Israeli mother coming for 10 months to visit him in New York, so he “got her an Airbnb in L.A.,” and his own fights with his wife, where language is a barrier – “her English to me is like Shakespeare.”
He ended up with the always funny Jewish relationship with food. “We eat foods we cannot digest, have 17 snacks a day, and eat TUMS. TUMS has saved more Jews than Oscar Schindler.”
Up next was Khan, a Muslim from California. She laughed about her dating experiences on apps. “If you are an appendix, I’d like to take you out … Are you Google cause I’m sure looking you up … You must be a terrorist cause you’re ‘the bomb!’”
Many stand-ups use comedy to express their own pain as Khan explained that she was bipolar and had thus become a therapist which was her day job. She said, “Bipolar is not a cool disorder like ADHD or autism. I’m an alcoholic, too.”
The most animated performer was Brooklynite Steve Marshall who worked the room mingling and charming the audience. He started with how he was bullied at school and later tried going to Catholic confessional. “It was like a vertical coffin,” which didn’t quell his yearning to be Italian where “the fifth graders had girlfriends, and he had a stamp collection.”
He then segued into the role of Jewish women, who are “not wives, but GPSs. We would be lost without them.” His funniest routine was about his accounting degree. “In bed, I understand the ledger, I draw two lines on the sheets … I’m so proud to be Jewish, I’m going to a plastic surgeon to make my nose bigger! I’m learning about LGBTQ’s. I thought it was a bacon lettuce sandwich … And who doesn’t leave home without re-checking the door lock and being told to take a sweater? … Jews invented YELP to complain.”
Some of the comedians picked out audience members with whom to jive. A Hindu family received a lot of attention and were good sports about it. Another picked out a man with a younger wife who was the lighthearted brunt of “trading in the old model for this new one.” Catholics took a lot of ribbing. The show ended with all four taking questions from the audience, especially about taking the tour to college campuses.
Neranenah executive director Joe Alterman said, “I’m incredibly proud that 250 people came out to experience this show. In a time of increasing division, the arts remain one of the few spaces where we can truly come together. This program … beautifully showcased the unifying magic of the arts and its profound importance — especially today. It was inspiring to see so many not only enjoy the show and its message, but also feel the transformative power of the arts firsthand.”
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