With strong views existing on both sides of the issue, one might expect an event focusing on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to feel tense.
However, on Saturday night, Claudia Cohen Hall was packed full of laughter at the playful banter of two comedians who have ties to the two opposing nations.
The “Stand Up for Peace” Comedy Night, hosted by the Penn Arab Student Society, featured comedians Dean Obeidallah and Scott Blakeman. Obeidallah is half Arab-American and half Italian-American. Blakeman is Israeli-American.
The pair have traveled throughout the nation, performing mostly at colleges including Yale, Harvard and Stanford Universities.
During the question and answer portion of the event, Blakeman explained, “We love college students because you are less rooted [in the stereotypical thinking],” he said. “It’s not a question of pro-Israel or pro-Palestine. You have to be pro-peace.”
Aseel Moosa, a Wharton senior, a former co-president of PASS and the organizer of the event said, “We wanted to bring a diverse crowd in and to be informed about the two sides of the conflict. We need the opportunity to come together and talk about peace.”
“Stand Up for Peace” began in June 2002 when the two comedians produced a series of shows for Seeds of Peace, an organization dedicated to empowering young leaders from conflicting nations to bring about peace and coexistence.
“We found out that we had the same idea,” Blakeman said.
“We wanted to break down stereotypes and to do something special,” Obeidallah added.
Obeidallah is known for his appearances in Comedy Central’s Axis of Evil and for being the co-creator and co-producer of the internet series The Watch List.
Blakeman has also made a number of television appearances including on Comedy Central’s Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn and has been the warmup comedian for The Late Show with David Letterman.
While the event focused mostly on breaking down stereotypes, the topics touched on by the two comedians covered a wide range of events from President Obama’s first year in office to the recent shooting at the Bridge.
“It was entertaining. I especially liked how they tied in the current events to their acts,” College sophomore Laura Rostad said.
