The Comedy Cellar: Live from the Table
The Comedy Cellar: Live from the Table
Comedy Cellar Network
Josh Szeps on Israel, Antisemitism and the War Over Moral Clarity
1 hour 21 minutes Posted May 29, 2026 at 12:20 am.
Intro and Josh Szeps joins the show
Josh’s background, Australia, and his previous Israel controversy
Jokes, parenting, kids, porn and the internet
Antisemitism, Australia, and the post-October 7th climate
Anti-Zionism, Israel’s legitimacy, and the meaning of a Jewish state
Palestinian refugees, Arab countries, and the right of return
Gaza, drones, October 7th, and whether Israel had another choice
Josh’s controversial “abandon Israel” column
Circling the wagons, Jewish identity, and criticizing Israel from the diaspora
Anti-Israel backlash, boycotts, and Jews being blamed for Israel
Kristof, the dog allegations, and the difficulty of discussing ugly claims honestly
The flotilla, Israeli detention, and skepticism toward activist claims
War crimes, double standards, history, and modern technology
Uyghurs, Kurds, ethno-states, and why Israel gets singled out
Media collapse, audience capture, and trying to have sane conversations
Finkelstein, complexity, and final thoughts
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Show notes
Josh Szeps joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about Israel, Gaza, antisemitism, Zionism, Jewish identity and why the debate has become so exhausting and distorted.
We talk about whether Jews outside Israel are being forced to answer for the Israeli government, what anti-Zionism really means, the failure of the peace process, Netanyahu, Gaza, drones, Palestinian leadership, the pressure to “circle the wagons,” and whether it is possible to criticize Israel without giving ammunition to people who hate Jews.
Josh Szeps hosts one of the biggest shows on Substack, Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps, where he has funny, bullshit-free conversations with people like Sam Harris, Jimmy Carr, Bari Weiss and Mark Normand about subjects that the mainstream media fails to discuss honestly. He has been on Joe Rogan's show seven times, he was a founding host of HuffPost Live in New York, then went on to get cancelled from his own top-rating talk radio show on Australia’s national public broadcaster. He's a columnist for Australia's most prestigious newspaper, the Australian Financial Review, and a major media figure Down Under.
https://x.com/joshzepps?lang=en
https://uncomfortableconversations.substack.com/about
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