Noam Shuster-Eliassi (, ; born ), is an Israeli comedian and activist.
She performs in
Hebrew,
Arabic, and
English.
Biography
Shuster-Eliassi was born to an Iranian-born Jewish mother and a Jerusalem-born father whose parents were
Holocaust survivors from
Romania.
Since she was seven years old, she grew up in
Neve Shalom/Wāħat as-Salām ("Oasis of Peace"), a community north of
Jerusalem where Jews and Palestinians live together by choice.
In this community, she learned Arabic quickly and was often mistaken for an Arab.
Shuster-Eliassi participated in
national service instead of serving in the army, then went to study acting at the
New York Film Academy
New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a private for-profit film school and acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. The New York Film Academy was founded in 1992 by Jerry Sherlock, a former film, t ...
for a year.
She played a part in
Talya Lavie's 2006 short film "The Substitute" before attending
Brandeis University on a scholarship.
Through an internship with
Women's Equity in Access to Care & Treatment (WE ACT), she went to
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
to help women get medical treatment.
Shuster-Eliassi became a co-director of
Interpeace, an organization founded and later discontinued by the
United Nations, when she was in her early 20s.
In 2019, she went to the
Harvard Divinity School for a fellowship under the Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative, where she was to develop her one-woman show to be performed at various nightclubs in major US cities.
However, with the outbreak of the
COVID-19 pandemic, she returned to Israel, where she contracted
the virus and stayed at a coronavirus hostel in Jerusalem.
She was the subject of the mini documentary ''Reckoning with Laughter'', directed by
Amber Fares
Amber Fares is a Lebanese Canadian filmmaker, documentarian, director and cinematographer. She co-founded SocDoc Studios. She is based in Brooklyn and State of Palestine, Palestine.
Biography
Born in Canada with Lebanese roots, Fares began her s ...
and produced by
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
.
"Dubai, Dubai"
Shuster-Eliassi had a viral moment in Arab media January 2022 in response to her performance of a satirical song called "Dubai, Dubai" in perfect Arabic on the program "Shu Esmo" (, ) on the Arabic Israeli station
Makan 33.
Performing as "Haifa Wannabe" (playing on the name of the Arab pop star
Haifa Wehbe
Haifa Wehbe ( ar, هيفاء وهبي ) is a Lebanese people, Lebanese-Egyptians, Egyptian singer and actress. She has released seven studio albums, and made her acting debut in the 2008 Pepsi-produced film ''Sea of Stars''. In 2006, Wehbe was ...
),
she delivered searing punchlines satirizing the
Abraham Accords
The Abraham Accords are a series of joint normalization statements initially between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, effective since September 15, 2020. Mediated by the United States, the initial announcement of August 13, 2020, ...
and the
Emirates' normalization of relations with
Israel and mocking the hypocrisy of Israel's relations with Arab countries.
The song was written by the program's editor, Razi Najjar.
Awards
In 2018, Shuster-Eliassi was named "Best New Jewish Comedian of the Year" in a competition sponsored by
JW3
JW3, also known as Jewish Community Centre London, is an arts, culture and entertainment venue, an educational facility and a social and community hub in north London. It is located at 341–351 Finchley Road, London, and opened on 29 Septembe ...
, also known as
Jewish Community Centre
A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social clubs, social, and Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish ...
in
London.
References
Living people
Israeli female comedians
Israeli activists
Year of birth missing (living people)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuster-Eliassi, Noam