Starting tomorrow, from January 10 to February 3, Jews and Israelis worldwide will witness another chapter of incitement and antisemitic content.
It will take place for three weeks in theaters across 17 European cities, including Hamburg, Munich, and Berlin in Germany; Gothenburg, Malmö, and Stockholm in Sweden; Manchester, London, and Birmingham in the UK; Oslo in Norway; Vienna in Austria; Copenhagen, Zurich, Brussels, Paris, Dublin, and Amsterdam.
They will consist of Arabic stand-up comedy by Egyptian-American comedian Bassem Youssef, one of the most globally recognized promoters of antisemitism.
Last March, this controversial comedian conducted a similar tour, presenting 25 shows in 16 European cities in English, which also contained incitement. This time, the content will be delivered in Arabic. Recently, Youssef posted a promotional video for his tour on his social media accounts (where he has nearly 19 million followers on X/Twitter and Facebook, in addition to millions on other platforms).
In the video, he casually asks his audience in Egyptian Arabic to suggest topics for his performances, asking them what they find funny or frustrating, and promising to address those issues. “Tell me everything, just like you exposed the traitors of Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam,” he urged. “I’m not afraid of those who translate my words from Arabic to English. Freedom for Palestine – and damn Israel.”
This statement underscores two critical points:
1. He approves of and celebrates the horrific terrorist acts committed against Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters in Amsterdam on the night of November 7, 2024.
2. He is determined to use these performances to promote incitement against Jews and Israelis, dripping with hostility and encouraging many Arab Muslims to target them.
Are theater managers complicit?
THIS RAISES an essential question: Are the theater managers aware of the content he will be presenting? Does freedom in comedy justify allowing content that incites against a community that has already suffered horrific consequences, particularly between 1933 and 1945, when six million Jews were victims of the Holocaust? And what about the subsequent persecution of Jews in Arab countries, which began in Iraq in 1949 and extended across the Arab world during the 1950s and ‘60s, causing massive losses on every level?
It is shameful for European theaters to open their doors to Bassem Youssef, one of the world’s most vocal antisemites, who wrote on X encouraging his followers to vote for him so that he could secure first place on Stop Antisemitism’s top-ten list of notorious Jew-haters.
“I’m honored to be a finalist on the list of the biggest antisemites. I can’t lose this, folks,” Youssef mockingly said. “Vote for me just like you vote for [Mohamed] Salah,” the famous Egyptian soccer player.
The Stop Antisemitism organization has criticized Youssef, stating that he uses his massive platform to spread harmful misinformation and conspiracies about Jews, such as falsely accusing Israel of killing its own citizens during the October 7 massacre, denying the atrocities committed by Hamas, and claiming Jews exploit events for their own agendas, fueling toxic narratives and global antisemitism.
The list of nominees includes Hassan Baker, Cori Bush, John Cusack, Greta Thunberg, and Candace Owens, among others. The final shortlist featured Baker, Owens, and Thunberg. Youssef later expressed disappointment for not making it, showing a blatant lack of empathy for those affected by the violence of Hamas, including hostages still being held in Gaza.
TO ILLUSTRATE his history of incitement, here are just two of countless examples:
On October 24, 2024, he wrote: “For the third time, I sat with [English television interviewer] Piers Morgan, but this time I focused on exposing the lies of the Israeli narrative about mass rape, the use of the Hannibal Protocol, and false claims about peace opportunities ruined by Palestinians. I hope you share this to counter their lies flooding social media.” The Hannibal Protocol is a procedure used by the IDF to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers.
On November 28, 2024, he posted: “Congratulations to our brothers in Lebanon on the ceasefire; hopefully, the same for our brothers in Palestine. But let’s not forget that Israel is a criminal state that kills children and women, then cries and uses October 7 as a justification for daily killings.”
Youssef consistently denies the historical rights of Jews to their land and rejects the numerous peace opportunities Israel has offered, which were always rejected by Arab leaders for their political gain, a practice that he perpetuates. He should read about the 1937 Peel Commission Report, which the Jews accepted while Arab leaders rejected it, based on ideological fantasies aiming for the annihilation of Jews.
I hope this article serves as a resounding call to all peace advocates worldwide and those opposing antisemitism to awaken to the danger posed by these provocative performances. They inflame hatred against Israel and Jews, and incite acts of violence against them.
To remain silent and merely observe would be a greater shame than to agree to host such shows. As Mark Twain said: “A man may sometimes be a fool alone, but no foolishness triumphs over teamwork.”
The writer is a political analyst specializing in Middle East affairs and Islamic movements, an opinion writer, and a member of the Swedish PEN Association.