Could an Israeli comedian who wasn’t totally fluent English perform and be a hit in America?
This is a question Yohay Sponder pondered some years ago. Along with famed Israeli comedian Shahar Hason, they were both household names in Israel and Sponder’s “Funny Monday” shows were in English.
I was in the crowd of several thousand who watched Sponder five minute set at the Chosen Comedy Festival in Brooklyn in 2022. Modi (Rosenfeld) announced him only as Yohay and nobody knew who he was. He made some brash jokes, and it was clear his blunt style was needed. Several people in the audience I spoke to were not impressed. I was.
Dani Zoldan, owner of Stand UP NY, said the success couldn’t have happened to a better person.
“In four years, he’s had a great rise,” Zoldan told The Journal. “I never heard of him when I did the First Chosen Comedy Festival in Brooklyn, and I had to be convinced by a producer to put him on. It was kind of a favor. To see him now doing the Beacon Theater on multiple nights, it’s great to see, not only because of his talent, and how he is resonating with audiences, but because he is a real mensch.”
“To see him now doing (New York’s) Beacon Theater on multiple nights, it’s great to see, not only because of his talent, and how he is resonating with audiences, but because he is a real mensch.” – Dani Zoldan
Dan Singer, the cantor of the Stephen Wise Synagogue in Manhattan, was also impressed by Sponder.
“He has a magnetic, warm personality and is clearly someone everyone in the room would love to hang with,” Singer said. “He speaks of positivity all the time, something we desperately need.”
When he headlined Stand Up NY, Sponder had a greater command of English and only a small bit of nerves. At the Beacon Theater, it was clear he had no nerves and a total command of the stage.
Sponder gave respect to Jerry Seinfeld, who continues his residency at the Beacon and told the crowd that he was in America on a tourist visa.
“Please, let’s keep it between us,” Sponder joked.
Sponder showed great confidence. Crowd work can feel like a highwire act with no net, but Sponder stopped to ask a man why he was walking out. The man, who said his name was David said he was going to the bathroom. He came back a few minutes later with M&M’s and he tried to give some to Sponder but only one came out of the packet.
Sponder realized how crazy Israelis are when they were upset that Iran threatened to wipe out the country in nine hours, but after the missile attack, it didn’t happen.
He has done shows in Israel when there were threats of Iranian attacks and only about 20 people came. His fear was there would be an attack and the media would report that only 20 people came to his show.
What is unique to Israel is they have “rescue flights” where people leave their margaritas by the pool and run from whatever country they are in to get to the war to defend the country.
He also joked that the exploding pager operation in Lebanon performed a bris on many Hezbollah operatives.
“They bought the pagers from us,” he said. “We made money that day … How did they not realize it was us when we told them ‘zero percent discount sir.’””
In a Q&A with audience members one patron asked Sponder what he thought of the terrorist attack on a flydubai flight.
“Don’t fly Dubai,” was his reply.
A person asked Sponder who would be his candidate to vote for in the Israeli election and Sponder would not say who he would vote for, but that it is important for people to vote.
He called French leader Emanuel Macron “the biggest useful idiot of all time” for his ineffective statements as France was burning with protests. It was unnecessary for Macron to say he did not participate in the war in against Iran, as this was already clear. He said France isn’t know to make war but to tell the other side it is surrendering.
“You’re named after the cookie, we’re going to call him for the dessert.”
He shot a special in 2025, “Self-Loving Jew,” in response to self-hating Jews. It was warmly received, but there were some threats.
Sponder’s rise in Jewish comedy and is not only a reflection of the hard work he put in to gain enough fluency in English to perform “Funny Monday” in English, but his understanding of the need for humor in tough times. He is a fearless comedian.
Sponder tells a story about a January 2025 show at the Boom Chicago comedy club that was cancelled; management told him there were threats and they would help him find a Jewish venue. He said that was discrimination.
New Yorker Nike Silberstein told The Journal that to her, Sponder is more than a comedian.
“He makes me feel stronger as a Jew,” she said. “His humor is great, but he also says serious things that would be useful in conversations, like his joke when a British person tells him Israelis are colonists and he explains how absurd a thing that is to say. He’s wonderful and I was an early fan who is not surprised at him getting all the love he deserves performing at big American venues.”
Sponder talked about having Polish and Moroccan lineage and is the grandson of Holocaust survivors. He also took a moment to speak seriously and said when Jews are forced out of a place, it is a sign of an imminent downfall of the society.
“Love is the most important part of the Jewish people,” he told the crowd.
He joked about his mother-in-law speaking in Russian, which he said is the worst language if you don’t understand it and requires you to twist your face to speak it.
Sponder’s gamble on himself as paid off and he continues his Genesis tour at Laugh Factory in Las Vegas on Oct. 28, before heading back to Isreal. He will perform with Elon Gold on December 28 in Jerusalem, for a “Homecoming “ tour that includes shows in Haifa and Tel Aviv.
And he’ll be performing at the Wiltern in Los Angeles on April 1.
In an interview well before his show, Sponder told The Journal: “We have always had enemies, and it should not come as surprise. We have to be strong and do the best we can and be positive. Being worried all the time doesn’t help. I try to make people laugh and I want people to take pride in being Jewish.”
