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S.F.-bound comedian just flew in from Israel — and boy are his arms tired

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Message: If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/40838/full/40838/s.f.-bound-comedian-just-flew-in-from-israel-and-boy-are-his-arms-tired/ S.F.-bound comedian just flew in from Israel — and boy are his arms tired Thursday, December 17, 2009 | by dan pine In most respects, the scenes resembled what typically goes on in a comedy club: standup comics pacing bare stages, audiences sitting at little round tables and roaring with laughter. But these shows weren’t at the Gotham Comedy Club in Manhattan, the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles or even the Chuckle Hut in Anytown, USA. This was Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and three other Israeli cities, all part of the “Comedy for Koby” tour, a twice-yearly slate of charity shows around Israel starring four U.S. comics and led by Israeli-born Avi Liberman. <div class="capDivLeft" style="width: 216px;"><img alt="Aliberman" class="left" height="278" src="/images/uploads/z_photos_2009/a12_18_09/Aliberman.jpg" title="Avi Liberman photo/courtesy of avi liberman" width="216" /> <div class="caption">Avi Liberman photo/courtesy of avi liberman</div> </div> “This was the best tour yet,” Liberman said a day traveling from Israel back to his home in Los Angeles. “I say that every time.” Liberman will have to shake off his jet lag quickly, because he’s already back on the road. His itinerary includes a Dec. 19 show at San Francisco’s Congregation Adath Israel. Now in his eighth year of leading comedy tours to Israel, Liberman has become perhaps the most visible member of an incongruously small subspecies of Jewish comedians: those who openly and proudly support Israel and their Jewish heritage. This latest Israeli tour featured Liberman along with fellow Jewish comedian Mark Schiff and two non-Jews, Butch Bradley and Steve White, an African-American who toured Israel with Liberman a few years ago, and loved it so much, he started learning Hebrew. Getting his fellow comedians excited about Israel is one of Liberman’s chief goals. “They start out thinking it’s like a giant war zone,” he said of his first-timers, “and obviously it isn’t. They go to Tel Aviv, see great beach and cafés. The people are nice and friendly. It completely blows whatever minor stereotypes they had out of their heads. They come back emissaries for Israel.” Liberman cited two other reasons for doing the tour. He donates all the proceeds to the Koby Mandell Foundation, which is dedicated to helping families of terror victims. It is named for a U.S.-born 13-year-old Israeli boy who was killed by Palestinian terrorists in 2001. The third reason Liberman brings the comedy tour to Israel: He says the country longs for a chance to laugh. “The people are super appreciative,” he said. “Everywhere we went, they come up and said, ‘Thanks for coming. No one ever comes here.’ ” Liberman tweaks his routine for every trip, gearing it for Israeli audiences (on this last go-round, he joked about the Dead Sea, saying only in Israel would people worry about something that was already officially declared dead). After more than a decade on the comedy club circuit, he’s become good at thinking on his feet. As a toddler, Liberman moved to Texas from Israel. Not surprisingly, he grew up in a strongly pro-Israel household, and was active with the Zionist youth group, Young Judea. He also couldn’t get enough of his father’s Mel Brooks albums and, later, the comedy of George Carlin. After graduating from SUNY Binghamton, he moved to Los Angeles to break in to the comedy universe. Over the years, he has appeared on “The Late Late Show” with Craig Ferguson, Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend” and “Make Me Laugh,” as well as NBC’s “Friday Night!” Acting credits include “Boston Common,” and several national commercials. He also appeared at the prestigious Montreal Just for Laughs Festival, which was the catalyst for an ah-ha moment when his agent told him that festival organizers wanted to include Liberman in a grouping of Jewish comics. “He said, ‘Do all your Jewish material,’” Liberman remembered. “At the time I didn’t have Jewish material. I realized I might as well embrace it, so I began writing about being Jewish and my Jewish experience.” And that means few jokes about airline food, and more about being a member of the tribe, especially one from Israel. Because of his unabashed pride in his Israeli heritage, Liberman decries what he calls the “be Jewish but not show it” mentality. “My friend calls me the right-wing hilltop settler zealot,” Liberman joked, “which is not true. I am very vocal [about] being pro-Israel. Early in my career I would shy away from Jewish material because it was so obvious. Now I realize it’s something I should embrace.” Avi Liberman performs at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, at Congregation Adath Israel, 1851 Noriega Street, S.F. $15, $10 under 30, $100 per table. Proceeds go to Adath Israel youth programs. Reservations and information: (415) 564-5665 or <a href="mailto:office@adathisraelsf.org">office@adathisraelsf.org</a>.

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