Charity for families of terror victims strikes right note with comedy night
Koby Mandell Foundation brings four international comedians to Israel for six-show fundraiser.
The Koby Mandell Foundation is raising money for families of terror victims with laughter, bringing international comedians to Israel for an eight-day, six-show run. And on Tuesday night, they made a splash in Tel Aviv.
The charity, established by the parents of Koby Mandell, a 13-year-old Israeli brutally murdered along with his friend Yosef Ish Ran in a terror attack in 2001, offers aid to bereaved families, through counseling, activities and even summer camps for children.
This year, the organization brought three American comedians – Avi Liberman, the driving force behind the tour; Kevin Meaney, a Broadway veteran whose act combines music and jokes; and Bobby Slayton – as well as British star Gina Yashere, who is deservedly making a name for herself on the international circuit.
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The Israel-born, Texas-raised Liberman brings the comedy tour to Israel twice a year, to raise money for the foundation. He has also organized the popular Stand Up for Israel comedy tours since 2001, the height of the Second Intifada, after discovering that his American friends had stopped travelling to Israel due to terror attacks. .
At their Tel Aviv show, the three Americans had pleasantly entertaining routines, with humor bordering on the borscht belt, but the highlight of the night was definitely Yashere, a boisterous stand-up act who had the audience in her hand from the moment she bounced on stage to her heartily applauded departure. Her routine is slightly bawdy, but utterly engaging and very, very funny.
The quartet is two-thirds of the way through the run, but if you're looking for a fun night out in Beit Shemesh on Wednesday night or Jerusalem on Thursday, then this could be your destination.
