Yohay Sponder: ‘The Jewish way is to succeed even when you’re excluded’

Yohay Sponder has a mantra: “Be you. Be Jew”. It  makes you want to connect with him, but that isn’t easy. Not when he is at the start of his hectic Genesis world tour with a jammed schedule. Now everyone wants a word with Yohay, but he is playing in London this weekend, so we had to talk.

Genesis is the name of his tour – to celebrate the idea of “in the beginning” and signal rebirth. “It’s an attempt to bring hope and  renewal into our post-October 7 reality,” says the funny guy who doesn’t shy away from “the conflict” on stage and improvises “you can just imagine it” conversations between the two sides .

Yohay says friends and family always considered him funny. “It’s something I bring from home. I was lucky to grow up in a happy, funny household which of course had a profound effect on me. I wanted to become a standup as soon as I realised it’s a profession but, on my way, there, I worked all sorts of odd jobs to support myself until I could do comedy as a full-time gig.”

Sponder, who has Polish roots, grew up in the Golan Heights and after serving in the army worked the stand-up circuit in Tel Aviv while holding down such day jobs as being a security guard for an Arab minister. Stories like this are useful to weave into his shows and he does so with the unaffected ease of a man who knows and wants to entertain his audience. “I think I learned how to manage my stress and nerves before a show, and now I channel that energy into excitement. I believe that the key is to be grateful. I truly appreciate each person who comes out to see me and this outlook allows me to have a calmer approach.”

Though audiences globally are not exactly welcoming Israeli-led comedy, there are enough who appreciate  the direct, blunt delivery discovered while social media scrolling. It was following that other great Israeli comedian Modi Rosenfeld that led me to Yohay and I shared the heck out of his content. The comedian is grateful for the exposure, though I don’t think him acquiring thousands more followers is solely down to me.  “I’m lucky to be able to upload my comedy and bring joy to millions of people I would otherwise not be able to reach,” he says in the heavily-accented English which charms a Jewish crowd, but adds: “It’s not easy doing standup in a second language, but being Israeli helps because we don’t know that we don’t know things.” I understand him completely.

It’s a given that he has the support of Jews who always come out to see him, but with a world tour, one never quite knows what to expect in a new city. Last year, Sponder’s show in Amsterdam was cancelled due to security concerns, but does this reaction embolden him to keep going?  “Absolutely. First of all, if there is a security risk, perhaps they should deal with the risk or the threat and not the guy who is just looking to make people laugh.

“It’s always a nice surprise to see how many non-tribe members come to see my show. There was one time I’ll never forget – at a show in New York a group of eight pro-Palestinian activists came to my show looking to ruin it. They stayed until the end and met me afterwards to speak to me and they told me they loved the show and they’re optimistic about our common future.”

Moved by his anecdote, I ask who makes Yohay laugh? “My wife – she’s a true comic in my eyes,” he says immediately. “She makes me laugh every day. She’s so talented and awesome. She’s also the one who made the answers to this interview.”

When he’s not writing, working or touring, his choice for downtime isn’t surprising, considering his hectic schedule: “I love to spend time with my family, reading, playing chess, learning languages, eating good food and catching up on sleep. In reverse order.”

Aside from the distinctive beard, Yohay is best known for his bold choice in necklaces. His favourite is the Magen David he wears to perform. “I wear it with great pride and it doubles as a self-defence weapon if needed.”

With his “Be Jew” mantra my much-wanted interview with Yohay was as enjoyable as I’d hoped –  and  I’ve also ordered a bigger Star of David.

@yohay_sponder