Comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi turns satire into resistance, employing humour to expose hard truths about the relationship between Israel and Palestine – where coexistence feels like a bad joke.
Eliassi is a former UN diplomat who traded traditional peace activism for stand-up. Her act embraces sharp, uncompromising humour to challenge deeply entrenched narratives about Israel and Palestine. Raised in the country’s only intentionally integrated Jewish-Arab community, she once believed in coexistence. But as the region’s stability worsens through political upheavals, the COVID pandemic and the events of October 7 2023, Eliassi’s comedy evolves into a fearless act of resistance. Filmed over five turbulent years, charting Noam’s rise as a bold new voice in Middle Eastern satire, Coexistence, My Ass! is a deeply personal and politically urgent documentary that delivers both laughter and heartbreak, reminding us that comedy can act as both a salve and a provocation for change.
Following the film there will be a three-way conversation to help us reflect on the impact in our own communities of events since October 7. The contributors will discuss their personal experiences within the Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities in Leeds.
Dr Robert Cohen – currently researching a book on the impact of Gaza on British Jews and why younger Jews are dissenting on Israel and Zionism
Kathryn Fitzsimons – a retired Anglican priest, based in Leeds since 1999. In 2024, she spent three months living in Bethlehem with the Word Council of Churches Programme.
Hanif Malik – he has been involved in community and multi-faith work for the past 25 years and has been instrumental in a number of interfaith initiatives in Leeds.
