Just a few days after October 7, veteran comedian and Hadassah life member Judy Gold posted on Instagram, “I now know who would hide me.” She wasn’t kidding. As someone whose father fought in World War II, whose parents knew many Holocaust survivors, she says that she is horrified by resurgent antisemitism.

“Generation to generation has dealt with antisemitism, and it’s our turn,” the 61-year-old said on her podcast, Kill Me Now, in a recent episode she recorded with fellow Jewish comedian Modi Rosenfeld. “It’s a terrible situation, but we’re going to survive, like we’ve survived before.”

Gold lives in Manhattan with her partner and is the mother of two adult sons. A two-time Daytime Emmy winner and author of Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come for the Comedians, We Are All in Trouble, Gold shares what it’s like to be Jewish in the entertainment world now, why she has no patience for famous people who eschew politics and how comedy is still a powerful weapon. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

What’s it like being a Jew in entertainment right now?

It’s sad. It’s infuriating. My mother would always remind us that everyone hates the Jews. My brother, sister and I are constantly saying, “She was right.”

People my age who are one generation from the Holocaust are dealing with that feeling of gloom. We learned a lot from the Holocaust, and we are fighting back. This time, we’re not victims. And I think people liked it better when they saw us as helpless.

Have you lost friends and followers over your support for Israel?

I posted myself on social media holding the sign “Bring our girls home now.” Within minutes, hundreds of followers gone. It’s pure and unadulterated antisemitism. People are so misinformed—it’s willful ignorance. It’s just so funny how if you mentioned Israel or the Middle East on October 6, people would say, “I really would love to know more about it,” but after October 8, they were all experts. It’s amazing how you can get a doctorate in two days. 

Why do you think more celebrities aren’t defending Israel?

The people who are silent—shame on you! There are the people in Hollywood who say, “I don’t want to get into politics, I steer away from that, I don’t want to ruffle any feathers.” But this is different. I do believe people are scared of losing their material things, and I know for a fact that people who were outspoken had to stop because of their family’s safety. But to never address it, to allow people who are against us to spread these conspiracy theories, this blood libel, not even acknowledging that this was the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust—which wasn’t that long ago—I don’t understand how you can sit and be silent.

I want to say, “shame on you!” I want to say, “We hear you: Your silence is so loud. We hear you and we see you and we will not forget.” When you think about it, comedians were among the first in the 1930s to talk about what was going on. Germany passed the Treachery Act of 1934, which said listening to or saying a Nazi joke was punishable by imprisonment or death. A year before, they started burning books. I want to say, “Your silence is allowing history to repeat itself.”

As a gay person and LGBTQ+ advocate, how do you feel about groups like Queers for Palestine?

Here’s the thing: In Gaza, if you are gay, you are killed. That’s it. Last year, I went to Israel with A Wider Bridge, an organization that connects LGBTQ+ groups in Israel and the United States. We met a Palestinian social worker who dealt with Palestinians who escaped and came to Israel because they’d be killed. They get shelter and medical care.

People here call it “pinkwashing” when you mention LGBTQ+ rights in Israel. It’s a democracy; they have four gay pride parades, one each Sunday in June. And these gay people are for Palestine? Please! Go there. Go to Gaza and see how long you last.

Is it hard to perform comedy at a time like this?

Comedy is the way Jews cope. If you think about it, we shouldn’t be here, but we are here. We have to laugh. At a recent Stand Up for Israel comedy show in Toronto, protesters called us “baby killers.” People who walked through those protesters to sit together and laugh were engaging in an act of defiance. Jews have used humor as a coping mechanism and a weapon for thousands of years. And we’re not about to stop.  

Has your college-aged son experienced antisemitism on campus?

He has not experienced a lot of antisemitism. He is the captain and star of his basketball team. I’ve asked around—other students’ parents said their kids have seen pro-Palestinian protests going on, but there haven’t been any incidents thus far of real danger. 

Do you see how this movement has infiltrated the educational system for 20 years? This is all part of the plan. I do have a joke about this: You know antisemitism is really incredible, it’s unbelievable at these colleges like Cornell, Harvard, MIT, Brown, and that was exactly why I did not go to an Ivy League school. That’s a way to make people laugh.

I don’t perform at colleges—that started years ago, when they started to cancel the comedians and tell them what they could and could not say.

---

Amy Klein is a freelance writer and the author of The Trying Game: Get Through Fertility Treatment and Get Pregnant Without Losing Your Mind.