An Orange Tie and A Grieving Crowd: Comedian Yohay Sponder on Jewish Resilience

What do you do when you’re an Israeli comedian set to perform in Paris on the very day the world learns the fate of the Bibas family?

Yohay Sponder faced that moment in February 2025—and chose to take the stage. Wearing an orange tie in their honor, he brought laughter to a grieving crowd. Since October 7th, he has used comedy to carry pain, affirm his identity, and connect through resilience.

Hear how his Jewish identity shapes his work, how his comedy has evolved since the Hamas attacks, and what he says to those who try to silence him. Recorded live at AJC Global Forum 2025.

*The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC.

Listen – AJC Podcasts:

• The Forgotten Exodus: Untold stories of Jews who left or were driven from Arab nations and Iran

• People of the Pod: 

• Latest Episodes: 

• From Broadway to Jewish Advocacy: Jonah Platt on Identity, Antisemitism, and Israel

• Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War: The Dinah Project’s Quest to Hold Hamas Accountable

• Journalist Matti Friedman Exposes Media Bias Against Israel

Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod

You can reach us at: [e-mail]

If you’ve appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Transcript of the Interview:

Manya Brachear Pashman:  

Israeli stand up comedian Yohay Sponder: first gained popularity for his funny Monday shows in Tel Aviv, which attracted a following on YouTube. A few years ago, Sponder made the decision to perform Israeli comedy in English to reach a wider audience and a wider audience it has reached. He has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, and in May, launched the North American leg of his international tour in Baltimore. 

Sponder is with us now on the sidelines of AJC Global Forum 2025. Sponder, welcome to People of the Pod. 

Yohay Sponder:  

Thank you so much for this eulogy.

Manya Brachear Pashman:  

I’m curious how you found your way to stand up comedy and tell us a little bit about your upbringing in general. 

Yohay Sponder:  

Doing comedy, I always been fascinated about the laughing reaction of humans. You know, it's fascinating, if you think about it, if you have the ability to improve the frequency in the room. As a kid, I was really intrigued by that. So you saying few things, and people go, haha. It's like designing a vibe. 

So as a kid, I was attracted to that. So as a kid, you watch video cassettes, back in the day, I would watch all of the comedy stuff. I had all of them cassettes. I was very, very affected by it, impersonations, imitating them, doing jokes of my own, and always around that. 

And in my show, I'm talking about comedy. I have a bit about comedy in my show that I'm saying that I was, I wasn't just the class clown in my school. I was the jokes technician. If you had a broken joke or a joke that didn't work, you would come to me. I would fix it for you, bring it back. Not using it as my own resume. I would bring it back, when it's fixed.

Manya Brachear Pashman:  

That’s great. So you helped others clown around as well.

Yohay Sponder:  

Yeah, I was a clown teacher. 

Manya Brachear Pashman:  

Were you raised in a secular home, a particularly Jewish home?

Yohay Sponder:  

I was raised in a, let's say secular but Jewish, celebrated holidays, family Friday night family dinners. But we weren't like super Shabbat keepers. I