Yechiel Jacobs: Bringing the Laughs Along with the Facts

A month after Oct. 7, Yechiel Jacobs turned the camera on his phone and started talking about Israel from the front seat of his car. In his Instagram video, he imitated comedian Sebastian Maniscalco and responded to a pro-Palestinian woman who made a video saying that if you were on the side of Ben Shapiro and Amy Schumer, perhaps you picked the wrong side.

Yechiel said, “If you got Hamas, ISIS, the Taliban and Hezbollah on your side, maybe you’re on the wrong side of things, lady. Just as suggestion… your team makes my team look amazing.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Yechiel Jacobs (@jacobsyechiel)

The video quickly took off, receiving 485,000 views and over 27,000 likes.

From there, Yechiel – a 23-year-old Florida-based real estate investor who was born in Israel – kept making videos. He had two goals: to get the facts about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict out into the world, and to make people laugh at the same time.

“It was such a needed thing,” he said. “After Oct. 7, everyone was doom-scrolling. Every video people watched was making them more depressed than the previous one. Then this funny guy pops up and he’s not just being funny – he’s also addressing the idiots making you sad in the first place. You get the facts, but you walk away laughing.”

The Rise of the Funnyman

Yechiel never had any aspirations to become a comedian.

“All my life, I’ve joked around, but I wasn’t into standup comedy,” he said.

The only comedy he was familiar with was from Sebastian Maniscalco – the one he does an impression of in his videos. Maniscalco, a popular Italian-American comedian, is married to a Jewish woman and known for his physical comedy and his bit comparing Italians and Jews at Passover.

“When my parents and I watched his shows, I’d impersonate him,” Yechiel said. “I think Sebastian has seen my videos. People told me they mentioned me to him.”

Now, for the past eight months, Yechiel has been learning about the art of comedy and performing standup. His most recent gig was at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles and he’s also performed at the New York Comedy Club. He’ll soon be opening for Elon Gold. On his Instagram, he posted a sketch with Michael Rapaport, who became outspoken about Israel after Oct. 7 as well.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Yechiel Jacobs (@jacobsyechiel)

“I like to watch comedians, see their timing and how they deliver things and how they interact with the crowd,” Yechiel said. “I’m trying to learn as quickly as possible.”

Though he’s learning standup, he’s perfected the art of the Instagram video, making snappy content that consistently goes viral, gaining upwards of 500,000 to over 1 million hits. One of his latest videos, a “Jewish dance edition” sketch with singer/dancer Montana Tucker and comedian Zach Margs, has 1 million views and shows the three doing the “tefillin wrap” and “challah braiding” dances.

“People have very short attention spans on social media,” Yechiel said. “Nobody likes dead space. Your success very much has to do with your editing.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Zach Margs (@zachmargs)

The comedian, whose family roots are in pre-1948 Jerusalem, caught the eye of the government of Israel, who flew him and other social media influencers there and gave them tours of the sites that were attacked. He also met with hostage families.

“It was a very impactful trip,” Yechiel said. “The whole point of it was to reignite the flame of why we are doing what we’re doing. I knew I had to keep fighting and pushing. It was very meaningful.”

Combating Antisemitism

While most of Yechiel’s fans are pro-Israel, he receives plenty of hate online.

“I’m not nervous, but people were reporting my account at first,” he said. “Then the pro-Israel side started catching on, and I got tons of love and support.”

Within two months of posting about Israel on TikTok, his account got banned – and a fan created a new one for him that he now uses.

“I’m not holding my breath that it’s going to last,” he said. “Every third video I post on TikTok, they take it down.”

As for what other Jews can do to combat misinformation and antisemitism online, here’s what Yechiel has learned. First, you need to respond to fake news quickly, but also make sure that you’ve verified your facts. It helps to respond in a creative way, like with humor or dances or something else that’ll catch a viewer’s eye.

There is also the futile effort of arguing with people online.

“At a recent summit for pro-Israel influencers, they told us that one out of four people on social media is a bot. I mean, I get oddly worded comments from people from Malaysia with one-and-a-half followers saying, ‘You’re killing it baby!’ I think what they mean is, ‘You’re killing babies!’” he said, with a laugh.

Of course, it’s important to keep going, even if when you feel like you aren’t making any headway. You never know whom you’re going to reach.

“I get a lot of messages from people saying, ‘Bro you’re hilarious, I don’t know anything about Israel, but I love your videos,’” Yechiel said. “The content has gotten to a lot of people because it’s funny. It’s super powerful in the hasbara world to get out of that echo chamber and into the world, where it wouldn’t normally go.”

The comedian also encourages Jews to gather together, especially since they are feeling so alone at this time.

“Utilize the Jewish community,” he said. “Talk things out and throw events. It’s a good thing because we really come together when times are tough. It’s super important.”

As for Yechiel, he’s going to continue with his mission: to keep creating funny, informative videos that are sure to make an impact.

“I feel very fortunate that God gave me this opportunity to be heard and spread this to many people,” he said. “I’m able to make Jewish people smile during a tough time and I’m spreading a lot of truth. God has been very giving in that sense. I’ve been very grateful for that.”