Dean Obeidallah: Two words that made Ramy Youssef’s ‘SNL’ monologue historic

Two words that made Ramy Youssef’s ‘SNL’ monologue historic

Dean Obeidallah CNN Opinion: "... Hearing someone on national network television say the words “Free Palestine” — and having the audience spontaneously burst into applause — is not something I’ve seen before. It’s something I wish my late father, a Palestinian immigrant to the US, had been alive to see.

[Ramy] Youssef was telling a joke, not making a speech. But comedians from Lenny Bruce to Richard Pryor to Jon Stewart and others have used comedy to raise challenging political, racial and societal issues. For years however — and perhaps more than ever during the current conflict in Gaza — people have understood that speaking out in support of Palestinians can come at a price. We’ve seen examples of this in Hollywood when actress Melissa Barrera was fired from the film “Scream VII” after writing social media posts that called Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide.”

Jonathan Glazer, the director of “The Zone of Interest,” was also criticized for remarks he made at the Oscars while being awarded the Best International Feature Film honor, after speaking out against “an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people.” And actress Susan Sarandon was released by her agency after making pro-Palestinian remarks at a rally last November.

Youssef, though, has been undeterred, using his comedy for months to bring attention to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza...  "  READ MORE  https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/31/opinions/ramy-youssef-snl-monologue-free-gaza-obeidallah/index.html

 [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine