Despite the dust, fatigue and apprehension, the soldiers of the Yahsam 179 battalion are all smiles. This November 9, in the Nahshonim military base, clinging to the demarcation line between Israel and the West Bank, the fifty reservists nevertheless returned from yet another training aboard their tanks designed to transport equipment over rugged terrain.
At any time, these non-professional soldiers can be called to the Gaza Strip, where several dozen of their brothers in arms have already been killed in the war against Hamas. Nothing that makes you want to joke. But Yoav Kotliar, the unit commander, assures that they still manage to find “ways to stay motivated” : that evening, after having devoured lukewarm pizzas and smoking a few cigarettes, the young men in fatigues quickly set up rows of plastic chairs in the vast hangar where their military vehicles are parked. The stand-up show starts at 9 p.m. sharp.
“Don’t forget that there are also good sides to this war, begins the actor Eli Haviv, 43, with applause, microphone in hand. For example, we no longer have time to be eco-anxious! » Their rifles slung over their shoulders, the soldiers laugh. For a little over two hours, he and three other comedians, Ori Broyer, Noga D’Angeli and Hagit Ginzburg (all followed by tens of thousands of people on YouTube and social networks), take turns trying to raise morale troops.
In front of Israeli flags and a simple portable speaker placed on the ground, the four stand-ups, in jeans and t-shirts, remind us that the entire population is impressed by the courage of their army. They heckle some of the infantrymen about their rough haircut or their young age.
Suddenly more serious, the artists also refer to October 7, a “second Holocaust”, according to them, who tore the reservists away from their loved ones and their jobs as teachers, tourist guides… The stars of the evening finish their performance by offering a few selfies in triumphant poses, perched on the tanks.
Laughter despite everything
M The magazine of the World chose laughter as a common thread for its end-of-year issue. In thirteen episodes, find these portraits, reports or investigations on the power of humor.
Episode 1 : Mohammed Amer, once upon a time there was a Palestinian in America
Episode 2: Blanche Gardin, the comedians after her
Episode 3: Waly Dia, fine blade of political sleight of hand
Episode 4: Grandpamini, the art of the satirical cover
Episode 5: Bassem Youssef, a scathing irony on the Israel-Hamas conflict
Episode 6: In Israel, comedians answer the call
Episode 7: Chinese comedians don’t mess around with censorship
Episode 8: In Ukraine, laughter as a bulletproof vest
Episode 9: You asked for Pierre The Police, don’t quit
Episode 10: “I was explaining to them that when I met you, you were the biggest petomane in France”
Episode 11: In Quebec, inclusive humor can be learned
Episode 12: Humor would no longer be what it was or the myth of “it was better before”
Episode 13: Joke to alert, the new mode of action of environmental activists
A group of “laughter warriors”
In this war against Hamas, humor has been put to the service of the Hebrew State. One would have thought that after the terrorist attack which left 1200 dead and 240 hostages, around a hundred of whom were freed during the truce at the end of November, the atmosphere would not be one of laughter. However, in Israel, the tragedy has not extinguished the laughter.
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