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NYC Comedy Event Promoting Interfaith Dialogue Gets Canceled After Pro-Palestinian Comics Pull Out
Pro-Hamas activists gather in Washington Square Park for a rally following a protest march held in response to an NYPD sweep of an anti-Israel encampment at New York University in Manhattan, May 3, 2024. Photo: Matthew Rodier/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
A live comedy event set to take place in New York City next week featuring comedians discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been canceled by organizers after the pro-Palestinian comics withdrew their participation.
“Comics for Conversation: Because It’s Not Always a Laughing Matter” was scheduled to be a show in which both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian comics would perform stand-up comedy sets followed by a moderated discussion on stage about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The event was meant to be the first initiative of a new movement called Don’t Hate Debate, a joint initiative between the marketing platform The Heart Monitors and Stand Up NY. Organizers hoped to promote interfaith dialogue between comics from both sides of the conflict while also hosting an evening where audiences can enjoy some laughs.
Two of the pro-Palestinian comics who originally joined the lineup dropped out of the show in late November after facing backlash from anti-Israel activists, who falsely claimed that the event would be a debate about “the genocide” taking place in the Gaza Strip. In response, organizers decided not to release the names of other participating comics and the location of the event in advance. The decision was made to ensure the safety and security of attendees and the remaining comics who would be featured in the show.
Dani Zoldan, the founder of Stand Up NY and the Chosen Comedy Festival, told The Algemeiner on Thursday that the event was ultimately nixed altogether when more pro-Palestinian comics dropped out of the event. The Heart Monitors and Stand Up NY released an open letter on Thursday addressed to the pro-Palestinian comics, urging them to reconsider their decision to pull out of Monday’s show.
“By participating, you are not endorsing any narrative or perspective other than your own. You are helping to create a space where others can see what it looks like to sit in the same room, listen, and engage without fear or anger dictating the conversation,” they wrote in the letter, which was shared with The Algemeiner.”We need your voices. We need your humor. And most importantly, we need your courage to engage.”
Organizers also clarified in the note what they called a “fundamental misunderstanding” about the goal of the event. “This is not a debate about genocide; it is an exercise in dialogue, empathy, and understanding,” they explained. “Humor is one of the most powerful tools we have to lower defenses and foster connection. It disarms anger and fear, opening the door to conversations that would otherwise feel impossible. As comedians, you have the unique ability to shine a light on truths, challenge assumptions, and create moments of shared humanity.”
“Your participation would not just represent your voice but also signal the courage to engage, to listen, and to model the dialogue we desperately need in our world today to create change,” they added. “By stepping back, we lose not just your voices but also the opportunity to inspire others to engage constructively. Your presence would show that even amid intense feelings and profound disagreements, it is possible to come together and model the courage it takes to foster dialogue.”
They also reiterated that the “Don’t Hate Debate” initiative at the heart of the event is “about dialogue, not discord.”
“It is about the courage to sit together, listen, and foster understanding rather than deepen divides,” they said. “This initiative recognizes that entrenched positions, anger, and blame only perpetuate suffering. It calls for an alternative — a step toward empathy, connection, and hope.”
The post NYC Comedy Event Promoting Interfaith Dialogue Gets Canceled After Pro-Palestinian Comics Pull Out first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with government officials in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Donald Trump on Saturday of lying when the US president said during his Gulf tour this week that he wanted peace in the region.
On the contrary, said Khamenei, the United States uses its power to give “10-ton bombs to the Zionist (Israeli) regime to drop on the heads of Gaza’s children.”
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on Friday that Iran had to move quickly on a US proposal for its nuclear program or “something bad’s going to happen.”
His remarks, said Khamenei, “aren’t even worth responding to.” They are an “embarrassment to the speaker and the American people,” Khamenei added.
“Undoubtedly, the source of corruption, war, and conflict in this region is the Zionist regime — a dangerous, deadly cancerous tumor that must be uprooted; it will be uprooted,” he said at an event at a religious center in Tehran, according to state media.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Trump speaks about peace while simultaneously making threats.
“Which should we believe?” Pezeshkian said at a naval event in Tehran. “On the one hand, he speaks of peace and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing.”
Tehran would continue Iran-US nuclear talks but is not afraid of threats. “We are not seeking war,” Pezeshkian said.
While Trump said on Friday that Iran had a US proposal about its nuclear program, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a post on X said Tehran had not received any such proposal. “There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes…” he said.
Araqchi warned on Saturday that Washington’s constant change of stance prolongs nuclear talks, state TV reported.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that America repeatedly defines a new framework for negotiations that prolongs the process,” the broadcast quoted Araqchi as saying.
Pezeshkian said Iran would not “back down from our legitimate rights”.
“Because we refuse to bow to bullying, they say we are source of instability in the region,” he said.
A fourth round of Iran-U.S. talks ended in Oman last Sunday. A new round has not been scheduled yet.
The post Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday
Doha, Qatar. Photo: StellarD via Wikimedia Commons.
A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Qatar’s Doha, Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Saturday.
He said the two sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions.”
Nono said Hamas was “keen to exert all the effort needed” to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was “no certain offer on the table.”
The negotiations come despite Israel preparing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as they seek “operational control” in some areas of the war-torn enclave.
The return to negotiations also comes after US President Donald Trump ended a Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire, although he acknowledged Gaza’s growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.
The post Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in The Hague, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
i24 News – Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan has stepped down temporarily as an investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct by United Nations investigators is nearing its final phase, Reuters reported on Friday citing sources from the international court.
Khan allegedly forced sexual intercourse upon a member of staff on multiple occasions, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, linking the allegations to Khan’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant.
A statement is expected later today announcing that Khan is going on administrative leave, according to a source in the prosecutor’s office.
The post Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe first appeared on Algemeiner.com.