Three months since war broke out between Israel and Palestine, protests continue across the world with support for both sides. Thousands are dead, hostages still unaccounted for, and bombs and rockets fly out into the night. While some media outlets are choosing sides SiriusXM host and comedian Dean Obeidallah believes this is no laughing matter, providing one message for the media and protesters alike.
“Nobody’s driving anyone into the sea. No one’s eliminating anyone. The idea of saying either side doesn’t exist is outrageous, ridiculous and dehumanizing, and not helpful. You have to recognize the humanity in each side. And that’s how we get to a just peace solution that can last for decades and generations.”
He is one of many calling for peace but his message is for both sides, “Since the beginning of October 7th, and my pinned tweet or X is about don’t lose your humanity when it comes to this conflict. You know, an Israeli child killed or a Palestinian child killed by militant or military action is just as wrong and hurtful.”
Obeidallah also wants people to understand, “A Palestinian mother grieves, an Israeli mother grieves for the loss of the child. And don’t dismiss them. Don’t discount them as not existing or they shouldn’t be there,” adding, “There’s no context for me in terms of the October 7th terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel. It’s actually horrifically wrong. Period. That’s it. Then we can have a different discussion about Israel’s response and what they’ve done in Gaza under Netanyahu.”
One distinction Dean Obeidallah wants to make? Separating out religion from the policy of politicians and terrorists. “We must make a distinction between the policy, the Netanyahu administration, or any Israeli administration and the faith of Judaism. They’re not the same at all. And I think the same way, like if you criticize Saudi Arabia, which I criticize all the time, I don’t give you is being anti-Muslim.”
He later added, “I have countless friends who are Jewish. You know, to me, Judaism is not defined by the policies of Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, but defined by my Jewish friends who are about compassionate care, and fight for justice. Everything they’re about is fighting against bigotry, bigotry against the Muslim community, [bigotry] against the black community that defines Judaism to me.”
Dean Obeidallah also recognizes you can’t take religion completely out of this war.
“You know, it’s really a land war that has religious overtones — to really be blunt — because that’s what’s going on. It’s a struggle over who’s going to control this piece of land. People invoking God on both sides. I don’t think God wants to be involved in either side,” he added, “I think that you’ve got a struggle for power the same way I sense Al Qaeda did not represent Islam, but they use my faith to inspire people and recruit people because they understand religion is a great motivator. And it is it can be used for great things, beautiful things. It also could inspire the worst things in the world to me through history. We see that. So in the Middle East, it’s not truly a religious war, but you can’t take religion out of it.”
A second distinction Obeidallah wanted to make, “Arab and Muslim don’t mean the same thing.” He later added, “Arab is an ethnicity you can be any religion. And being Muslim is a religion. You can be any race or any background. You know, you can convert to Islam. You can’t convert to being Arab. It’s like asking someone to convert to being Italian. You can like all the pizza you want in the world, but it doesn’t make you Italian.” Obeidallah is half-Italian.
While the war rages on abroad many are bringing the war to America’s streets. Hate crimes against both Jews and Muslims are on the rise. Reacting to attacks on a national scale Dean Obeidallah quoted his father, “My late Palestinian father would always say that we don’t bring the Middle East conflict here. And what he meant is, it’s not that we don’t talk about the Middle East conflict here and we’re not passionate about it. We can be, but we don’t bring the anger and the hate and the violence here, because for every incident, you can show me if some of these, you know, anti-Semitism, which is hateful and horrible, there’s others where people are demonizing, you know, Muslim-Americans or Palestinian-Americans.
“I think the extreme voices always get the more media coverage,” later adding, “If you’re going to spew and peddle hatred of Jews, you’re not helping the Palestine cause. I don’t want your support. You’re not helping.” He also took aim at the media’s coverage of the war, “We just want to be tribal and make this a sporting match. Like I see The New York Times, they ask questions. Who do you have more sympathy for, Palestinians or Israelis? That is the worst question in the world. These are human beings. They’re both human beings.”
Dean Obeidallah believes the questions should be asked are, “Who do you have more concern for? Humanity or terrorists? I would say humanity; people who want to live their lives. And then from there, we can embolden those who want to live in peace together and marginalize those as much as possible. Who are the militants and who want to fight and don’t recognize the other side’s right to exist?”
The comedian told Barrett News Media, “It’s really hard to have comedy that is going to bring people together when people are emotionally so raw.” However, he is trying to promote peace through comedy with his friend Max Brooks, son of Mel Brooks, “We did it about a month ago, about combating anti-Muslim anti-Semitism together. It’s really short. It’s silly, but we’re just trying to make the point there’s no place for it. And he uses humor.”
But unifying humor is hard during war and Dean Obeidallah believes, “When people start to calm down and go, okay, what can we do now in the bigger picture, trying to bring people together. And comedy’s a great vehicle for that,” adding “We’re laughing together, having a good time together. And that’s really what it’s about, sort of celebrating humanity through laughter.”
Krystina Alarcon Carroll is a news media columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. She has experience in almost every facet of the industry including: digital and print news; live, streamed, and syndicated TV; documentary and film productions. Her prior employers have included NY1 and Fox News Digital and the Law & Crime Network. You can find Krystina on X (formerly twitter) @KrystinaAlaCarr.
