Laughter Takes Edge Off Attacks for Israelis

During the war’s first few days, Israelis were too stunned to laugh about the unfolding events, but any hesitations have passed. Today, jokes fill the newspapers and make the rounds mouth-to-mouth.

“CNN has been amazing,” popular singer Danny Sanderson said on television a few days ago. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bernard Shaw riding a Scud as it flew from Iraq to Israel, just to get the story. ‘We’re crossing Jordan now,’ he would say. ‘I see Tel Aviv in the distance.’ ”

CNN has been a popular subject for jokes. One line has it that Iraq canceled a recent Scud launch because of a technical problem in a CNN video camera.

Much of the humor does not translate from Hebrew. One joke, however, is tailor-made for English speakers who remember the biblical story of Moses and the burning bush.

It has Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir saying, “The last time the Jews listened to a bush, they wound up wandering through the desert for 40 years.”

“Some people believe that if the situation gets really dire, we’ll stop telling jokes,” satirist Yair Garbuz said. “That’s not true. Sometimes humor is the only way to express your true feelings.”

Before the first Scuds landed in Tel Aviv, Israelis belittled the likelihood of chemical weapons, saying, “Get your hot dogs ready. The mustard is on the way.” That sort of joke disappeared after the first attack.

Likewise, a local florist who recorded an anti-Saddam song won popularity with lyrics that said, “Saddam, you idiot. Get out of there . . .” The song disappeared from the radio airwaves after the first attack, although the “artist” continues to sell thousands of cassettes.

A book of jokes about the war has already been published. Garbuz read it, but didn’t find anything original. “Most of the jokes are rehashed versions of stories that have been around for 30 years,” he said.

Garbuz, who co-edits a weekly Tel Aviv satirical newspaper, differentiated between simple humor and satire:

“There’s a lot more to it than just putting on a gas mask and slipping on a banana peel,” he said. “Behind many of the jokes are really serious questions. Why do Israelis unite at wartime, but spend the rest of their lives at each other’s throats? We may laugh at the ultra-Orthodox Jews who don’t wear masks because they say God will protect them, but the truth is, that is a very sobering thought.”