00:12Palestinian Israeli stand-up comedian Nidal Badarni has spent years turning everyday Palestinian life into comedy.
00:18For many Palestinians, his shows offer a brief escape from the pressures of life as Palestinian citizens of Israel.
00:24I like him that he talks about us, about our humanity here, about our life here.
00:39Comedy here is more than just entertainment.
00:43Here and elsewhere, comedy is about confronting difficult realities and creating a space to talk about them.
00:49But in Israel, those spaces and the art itself are coming under increasing government scrutiny.
01:00We meet Nidal offstage in Haifa, his hometown.
01:03Many here see him as someone who dares to speak out without fear or hesitation.
01:09But that has also drawn the attention of Israeli authorities.
01:12He recalls how some of his jokes about October 7 appeared to cross a line.
01:17Last year, he was detained on suspicion of disturbing the public order.
01:36He was released hours later, but says police pressure led to several of his shows being cancelled in the weeks
01:44that followed.
01:44A difficult moment that revealed to Nidal the raw power of comedy.
01:49I learned the meaning of the thing I did for the first time.
01:52I learned how comedy is changing with people.
01:57And how comedy is changing with people.
01:58And how comedy is changing with words and words have a big impact on the society.
02:03He's just one of hundreds of other cases, according to rights groups.
02:07It's clear that since October 7, the Israeli authorities in different types of cases, whether the police or the general
02:15police, the court, the court, the court, or even the court,
02:17they use all the tools to speak to the human rights.
02:23And thus, they release the fire from the destruction and the fire from the personal records that everyone is being
02:31punished after saying their own mind.
02:36Miral is getting ready for his show.
02:38Unlike some of his colleagues, he says, he will not censor himself.
02:42This is a place where we are as artists, despite everything that happens with us,
02:47we will stop and say our words, and this is a place where the art is.
02:51The art is a place where it is in a place, in a place, in the first place, and not
02:56in
02:56the first place.
02:57And so in search of the next powerful punchline, he says he remains committed to standing up
03:02and speaking his mind.
