The Israel Police on Monday evening arrested Nidal Badarny, an Arab stand-up comedian who joked about the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, posting some of the offensive clips on social media.
“The footage raised concerns about a breach of public peace,” police said, according to Kan News, Israel’s public broadcaster.
Two shows by Badarny in Haifa and Nazareth were recently canceled following a public protest and a threat by the police to revoke the venue’s business license.
Btsalmo, an Israeli human-rights NGO, brought Badarny to the attention of police and the State Attorney’s Office, leading to his arrest.
Btsalmo CEO Shai Glick told JNS that Badarny was arrested, questioned and released under restrictive conditions.
In one example of his humor, Badarny makes light of the captivity of Thai hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7.
Performing before an Arab Israeli audience in Arabic, Badarny says, “Who told the Thais they were hostages? The Thais sit, they see a van pass by, get on it, thinking someone’s taking them to work. They get to Gaza. There are whistles, everyone’s clapping. Women come out cheering, throwing rice. And the Thais say, ‘Oh, wow, what a reception. What are the work conditions here?’ The first time in their lives that the Thais were respected—first time.”
The audience can be heard laughing appreciatively.
Thirty-one Thai nationals were taken hostage on Oct. 7, according to the Thai government. More than 40 were killed on the day of the attack.
The majority, 23, were released in a November 2023 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Eight remained in Gaza, of whom five were released on Jan. 30. Of the remaining three, it is believed that two have since died. The fate of the third—Nattapong Pinta—is not known.
Of the Hamas handover ceremonies, in which hostages are made to thank their tormentors and handed gift bags and certificates, Badarny said, referring to the recent transfer of female Israeli hostages:
“Today the whole world asks, ‘What are these certificates of appreciation that Hamas gave to the female prisoners as they took them out of Gaza yesterday?’ According to my analysis, how I saw the female Israeli captives released home in athletic clothes, it appears that those are certificates of completion for a course in Pilates,” he said.
Of Israeli hostage Mia Leimberg, 17, who was released as part a Hamas-Israel deal in November 2023, along with her dog Bella, who was with her but went unnoticed by the terrorists, Badarny said:
“In his first declaration, the dog and son of a dog, Susu, said that his life was great in the tunnels in Gaza. He ate fresh beef and chicken daily, in contrast to his early life in the settlement of [Kibbutz] Be’eri.”
Glick welcomed the comic’s arrest. “As I said, Nidal Baderny is not an artist, but an inciter who glorifies terrorism. We will continue to make sure that Mr. Nidal is in jail and that he is indicted. His place is in prison, not on public stages,” he said.
In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack, Israeli Arab support for Hamas was reportedly widespread, with police arresting dozens of suspects on charges of incitement and support for terrorism.
In a case similar to that of Badarny, an Arab Israeli actress, Maisa Abd Elhadi, was arrested for incitement and praising terrorism.
Abd Elhadi shared images of an elderly woman as she was taken hostage by Hamas, posting it with laughing emojis.
She captioned another picture of Hamas terrorists breaking through Israel’s Gaza fence: “Let’s go, Berlin-style.”
