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Amsterdam Club Slammed for ‘Gaslighting,’ ‘Lying,’ Succumbing to Pressure to Cancel Israeli Comedian’s Shows
Israeli comedian Yohay Sponder. Photo: Screenshot
An improv theater and comedy club in The Netherlands is being heavily criticized for “caving” to pressure from pro-Palestinian activists and making an “outrageous” decision to cancel performances by an Israeli stand-up comedian, while also allegedly lying about security concerns expressed by local police.
Israeli stand-up comedian Yohay Sponder was originally scheduled to perform two shows on Jan. 25 at Boom Chicago, located in Amsterdam, as part of his world tour called “Self-Loving Jew.” Sponder, who is based in Israel, is beginning the European leg of his tour in London this week and the second stop was scheduled to be in Amsterdam.
“Sponder is a comedian; his mission in life is to bring joy and laughter to people. He’s not looking for a fight. That being said, he is unapologetically proud to be Jewish and Israeli,” Kayla Sponder, who is the comedian’s booking manager and wife, told The Algemeiner on Monday. She added that her team is “incredibly disappointed” by Boom Chicago’s decision to cancel Yohay’s two shows after it faced criticism and backlash from pro-Palestinian activists.
“I knew that there would be feelings and reactions to a show that’s called ‘Self-Loving Jew,’ even though the message is self-love,” she explained. “We’re not tone deaf to the climate in Europe and the world, so we knew this was coming, I just didn’t expect it from club owners and venues. I expected protests and pushback, but it’s very disappointing. It’s a sad day not just for the Jewish community, but for culture and the arts when freedom of expression and freedom of speech is silenced and it’s not backed up.”
“I think they were honest about the concerns that were raised,” she added about Boom Chicago. “I think the concerns were real … [But] I think they made the wrong decision. They caved.” The venue’s decision even sparked outrage from politicians in The Netherlands who called the move “outrageous” and demanded that the country’s minister of education, culture, and science get involved to protect Jewish artists like Sponder.
Kayla explained to The Algemeiner that she had been working with Boom Chicago for roughly the last two months to coordinate Yohay’s performances on Jan. 25 at the venue. The first show sold out and the second show was nearly sold out.
“Everything was great. We had a great working relationship [with Boom Chicago]. Everything was running really smoothly until about two weeks ago,” Kayla said, before explaining an incident that took place at the comedy club.
A pro-Palestinian activist had walked into Boom Chicago, criticized the venue for allowing a Zionist Jewish comedian to perform there, and declared “Free Palestine.” After the incident, Boom Chicago’s sales and events coordinator told Kayla that Yohay’s performance at the venue would move forward but the club had some security concerns they wanted to discuss with her over a Zoom call.
Kayla said she and her team were already planning on hiring private security even prior to the incident, “because we’re not tone deaf to the current climate in Europe.” Only two months ago, fans of the Israeli soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv were targeted with antisemitic violence and physically assaulted, and even run over by cars, in the streets of Amsterdam.
“The security and safety of Yohay’s fans, staff that is working with him, and of course his own safety is top priority,” Kayla said.
When Kayla had a Zoom meeting with two staff members of Boom Chicago, including its head of sales and events, they told her the pro-Palestinian activist who entered the club sent them an email and informed them about more organized efforts by anti-Israel groups to protest and boycott Yohay’s shows on Jan. 25. Online groups, such as one called Student Intifada NL, baselessly called Yohay a “genocide glorifier” and an “ultra-Zionist” who “makes jokes based on Israeli propaganda.”
In response, Kayla told Boom Chicago her team would be in touch with private security companies, increase security at the shows on Jan. 25, and pay for it out of pocket. At the time of the Zoom call, the venue still gave her the impression that the shows would take place, she told The Algemeiner.
On Friday morning, however, Boom Chicago’s director Andrew Moskos sent an email to Kayla. He said that after speaking to police in Amsterdam, the venue decided to cancel Yohay’s shows for security reasons.
“Due to the climate in Amsterdam, public reactions, and concerns from the police, we cannot allow Yohay Sponder’s performance at Boom Chicago on Jan. 25 to continue,” Moskos wrote in an email to Kayla that was shared with The Algemeiner. “Boom Chicago has always stood for free speech. This is not a decision we take lightly.”
“The situation is tense here, we got a lot of feedback, police was concerned about the performance as well. At the end of the day we just can’t go forward with this right now,” Moskos wrote in subsequent emails. “It is just a complicated situation, it’s almost the most complicated moment of a complicated situation, those 50 Maccabi [soccer] fans certainly didn’t help the situation, that is for sure. That’s what sort of kickstarted the situation.”
Even during phone calls about the decision, Moskos repeatedly told Kayla that Amsterdam police had expressed security concerns about the performances. Kayla told The Algemeiner that when she asked Moskos directly if the request to cancel Yohay’s shows had come from police, he responded, “It has not come to that yet, but I think that that decision will and I don’t want to wait for that to come…we have negative advice is what where we are.”
However, the Amsterdam-based publication NL Times reported that Amsterdam police and the office of Mayor Femke Halsem denied any involvement in Boom Chicago’s decision. A police spokesperson was also cited as saying that they did not know about Yohay’s performances and never discussed security concerns with the venue.
“It seems like they [Boom Chicago] weren’t being honest,” Kayla told The Algemeiner. “Someone’s lying. They can’t be both telling the truth.”
Moskos also said in emails to Kayla throughout the weekend that Boom Chicago would help her team find a “Jewish venue or club space in Amsterdam that might accommodate you.” Kayla said the Boom Chicago team never ended up sending her suggestions for other venues.
“Who might be available at this late notice and willing to take the heat?” Moskos wrote in one email.
“He sent the most gaslighting email ever,” Kayla said. “I didn’t create this situation, I didn’t create the ‘heat.’ I didn’t create this ‘late notice.’”
In the aftermath of the event being canceled, Kayla said the Jewish community and pro-Israel allies have reached out and offered to help, showing what she called “an immense amount of support.” Her team tried to find an alternative venue in Amsterdam to keep Yohay’s shows on Jan. 25 but to no avail. They hope to bring his shows to Amsterdam at a later date.
In April, Boom Chicago will host a performance by Palestinian comedian Sammy Obeid, who recently concluded a tour called “Ceasefire.” Obeid has regularly posted anti-Israel messages on social media, accusing the country of genocide, comparing it to the Hezbollah terrorist organization, and criticizing US support for the Jewish state. He often makes jokes about Israel and has even done stand-up comedy routines ridiculing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
When The Algemeiner contacted Boom Chicago for a comment, and asked for them to clarify their involvement with Amsterdam police before making the decision to cancel Yohay’s show, Boom Chicago CEO Saskia Maas referred to a statement posted on the venue’s website.
“Unfortunately, following the announcement of the show, we received significant negative reactions, both online and from our visitors. Some of these responses were outright threatening,” they said in part. “As a result, we began to worry about the safety of our performers, audience, and colleagues. Therefore, we made the difficult decision to cancel the performance.”
“We are deeply saddened that this situation has escalated into a polarized debate about Gaza,” they added. “In our 32 years of existence, we have never experienced anything like this. Very nasty criticism has come at us from all sides, even though we genuinely tried to do what was best for everyone. We are using this experience to learn and grow. In the future, we will involve the City of Amsterdam immediately whenever safety concerns arise. Thankfully, we are now working closely with them on next steps.”
Boom Chicago concluded by saying that it will host an open discussion about the role of comedy in 2025. “The goal is to foster understanding and dialogue among diverse perspectives, without restrictions. We hope we can have a future where that is possible because humor can help bring people closer: Life is better when you laugh together.”
The post Amsterdam Club Slammed for ‘Gaslighting,’ ‘Lying,’ Succumbing to Pressure to Cancel Israeli Comedian’s Shows first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran’s Top Diplomat Meets With Russian Officials, Supreme Leader Sends Letter to Putin Ahead of Talks With US
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, March 21, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran’s so-called “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, briefing Moscow on the ongoing nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the United States.
Khamenei also sent his top diplomat, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, to Moscow, where on Thursday he met with Putin and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, to deliver Khamenei’s letter. During their meetings, they discussed Iran’s nuclear program, last week’s US-Iran negotiations in Oman, and efforts to expand bilateral cooperation and address regional developments.
Thursday’s high-level meeting came just days before a second round of talks between Tehran and Washington, scheduled to take place in Rome this weekend.
Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran aimed at cutting the country’s crude exports to zero and preventing it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
However, Tehran has refused to halt its uranium enrichment program, insisting that the country’s right to enrich uranium is non-negotiable.
Last month, Trump threatened to bomb Iran and impose secondary tariffs if the country does not reach an agreement with Washington to curb its nuclear program.
Russia has said that any military strike against Iran would be “illegal and unacceptable.” As an increasingly close ally of Tehran, Moscow plays a crucial role in Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the West, leveraging its position as a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council and a signatory to a now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal that imposed limits on the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia will continue to assist in resolving the conflict between the two adversaries.
“The Russian Federation remains ready to do everything within our capabilities to contribute to the settlement of the situation by political and diplomatic means,” Peskov said in a statement.
During his first term, Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear deal — known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — between Iran and several world powers, which had imposed temporary limits on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for lifting harsh, long-standing economic penalties on the Islamist regime in Tehran.
“Regarding the nuclear issue, we always had close consultations with our friends China and Russia. Now it is a good opportunity to do so with Russian officials,” Araghchi told Iranian state media before his meeting in Moscow.
On Tuesday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said that any deal with Iran must require the complete dismantling of its “nuclear enrichment and weaponization program — reversing his earlier comments, in which he indicated that the White House would allow Iran to enrich uranium to a 3.67 percent threshold for a “civil nuclear program.”
Although Iran has denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has raised concerns over Tehran’s rapid acceleration of uranium enrichment.
The IAEA warned that Iran is enriching uranium up to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90 percent weapons-grade level and enough to build six nuclear bombs.
Despite Tehran’s claims that its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes rather than weapon development, Western states have said there is no “credible civilian justification” for the country’s recent nuclear activity, arguing it “gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.”
Russia’s diplomatic role in the US-Iran nuclear talks could be crucial, as Moscow has recently solidified its growing partnership with the Iranian regime.
On Wednesday, Russia’s upper house of parliament ratified a 20-year strategic partnership agreement with Iran, strengthening military ties between the two countries.
Signed by Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in January, the Strategic Cooperation Treaty will boost collaboration between the two countries in areas such as security services, military drills, warship port visits, and joint officer training.
Iran’s Ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, said this agreement “stands as one of the most significant achievements in Tehran-Moscow relations.”
“One of the most important commonalities between the two countries is the deep wounds inflicted by the West’s unrestrained unilateralism, which underscores the necessity for broader cooperation in the future,” Jalali told Iranian state media this week.
Under the agreement, neither country will permit its territory to be used for actions that pose a threat to the other, nor will they provide assistance to any aggressor targeting either nation. However, this pact does not include a mutual defense clause of the kind included in a treaty between Russia and North Korea.
The agreement also includes cooperation in arms control, counterterrorism, peaceful nuclear energy, and security coordination at both regional and global levels.
Iran’s growing ties with Moscow come at a time when Tehran is facing increasing sanctions by the US, particularly on its oil industry.
Last year, Iran obtained observer membership in the Eurasian Economic Union. The free trade agreement between Tehran and the union’s member states, set to take effect next month, will eliminate customs tariffs on over 80 percent of traded goods between Iran and Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
The post Iran’s Top Diplomat Meets With Russian Officials, Supreme Leader Sends Letter to Putin Ahead of Talks With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Rejects Israeli Interim Truce Offer, Says Will Only Release Remaining Hostages for End to Gaza War
Protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, stand near a screen displaying senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya during a rally to show support to Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, Oct. 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Hamas wants a comprehensive deal to end the war in Gaza and swap all Israeli hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel, a senior official from the Palestinian terrorist group said, rejecting Israel‘s offer of an interim truce.
In a televised speech, Khalil Al-Hayya, the group’s Gaza chief who leads its negotiating team, said the Iran-backed Islamist group would no longer agree to interim deals, adopting a position that Israel is unlikely to accept and potentially further delaying an end to the conflict.
Instead, Hayya said Hamas was ready to immediately engage in “comprehensive package negotiations” to release all remaining hostages in its custody in return for an end to the Gaza war, the release of Palestinians jailed by Israel, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
“Netanyahu and his government use partial agreements as a cover for their political agenda, which is based on continuing the war of extermination and starvation, even if the price is sacrificing all his prisoners [hostages],” said Hayya, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We will not be part of passing this policy.”
Egyptian mediators have been working to revive the January ceasefire agreement that halted fighting in Gaza before it broke down last month, but there has been little sign of progress with both Israel and Hamas blaming each other.
“Hamas’s comments demonstrate they are not interested in peace but perpetual violence. The terms made by the Trump administration have not changed: release the hostages or face hell,” said US National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt.
The latest round of talks on Monday in Cairo to restore the ceasefire and free Israeli hostages ended with no apparent breakthrough, Palestinian and Egyptian sources said.
Israel had proposed a 45-day truce in Gaza to allow hostage releases and potentially begin indirect talks to end the war. Hamas has already rejected one of its conditions – that it lay down its arms. In his speech, Hayya accused Israel of offering a counterproposal with “impossible conditions.”
Hamas released 38 hostages under a ceasefire that began on Jan. 19. In March, Israel‘s military resumed its ground and aerial offensive in Gaza, after Hamas rejected proposals to extend the truce without ending the war.
Israeli officials say that the offensive will continue until the remaining 59 hostages are freed and Gaza is demilitarized. Hamas insists it will free hostages only as part of a deal to end the war and has rejected demands to lay down its arms.
The war was triggered by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage to Gaza.
The post Hamas Rejects Israeli Interim Truce Offer, Says Will Only Release Remaining Hostages for End to Gaza War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Says Chinese Satellite Firm Supporting Houthi Attacks on American Interests
A Houthi fighter mans a machine gun mounted on a truck during a parade for people who attended Houthi military training as part of a mobilization campaign, in Sanaa, Yemen, Dec. 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The US State Department on Thursday accused a Chinese firm, Chang Guang Satellite Technology, of directly supporting attacks on US interests by Iran-backed Houthi fighters and called this “unacceptable.”
Earlier, the Financial Times cited US officials as saying that the satellite company, linked to China’s military, was supplying Houthi rebels with imagery to target US warships and international vessels in the Red Sea.
“We can confirm the reporting that Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company Limited is directly supporting Iran-backed Houthi terrorist attacks on US interests,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a regular news briefing.
“China consistently attempts … to frame itself as a global peacemaker … however, it is clear that Beijing and China-based companies provide key economic and technical support to regimes like Russia, North Korea and Iran and its proxies,” she said.
Bruce said the assistance by the firm to the Houthis, a US-designated terrorist group, had continued even though the United States had engaged with Beijing on the issue.
“The fact that they continue to do this is unacceptable,” she said.
The spokesperson for China’s Washington embassy, Liu Pengyu, said he was not familiar with the situation, so had no comment. The firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China is Washington’s main strategic rival, and the latest charge comes as the two economic and military superpowers are in a major standoff over trade in which US President Donald Trump has dramatically ramped up tariffs on Chinese goods.
The post US Says Chinese Satellite Firm Supporting Houthi Attacks on American Interests first appeared on Algemeiner.com.