On SNL, Ramy Youssef Set a Great Example
"Please free the people of Palestine, please. And please free the hostages, all the hostages, please."
During this past weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live, host and comedian Ramy Youssef delivered a monologue that was both funny and heartfelt. At one point, he touched on a topic that is decidedly not funny: the ongoing war in the Middle East between Israel and Gaza. Somehow, he pulled it off.
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In one of his jokes, Youssef mentioned a friend who asked him to pray for family members who are suffering and lost in Gaza. Youssef shared his prayer with the audience:
God, please, please help Achmed’s family. Please stop the suffering. Stop the violence. Please free the people of Palestine, please. And please free the hostages, all the hostages, please.
There are innocent people on both sides of this divide. Innocent Israelis have been slaughtered. Innocent Palestinians have been bombed and starved. These are all tragedies. In this, Youssef doesn't just speak to the plight of Palestinians; he invites his audience into a space of shared humanity, where empathy knows no borders. His words serve as a reminder that behind the headlines and political rhetoric are real people enduring unimaginable suffering. By bringing Achmed's story to the forefront, Youssef challenges the binary narrative that frames the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, urging a more nuanced and compassionate approach to understanding the world.
Youssef advocated for a common ground rooted in basic human decency. This narrative doesn't diminish the complexities of the Middle East; rather, it highlights the fundamental human rights and dignities that are often overlooked in the debate. By emphasizing empathy and understanding, Youssef's message is a call for a collective reevaluation of how we engage with contentious issues, advocating for a world where compassion for all is the guiding principle.
This is that portion of his monologue (bolded emphasis mine):
I’m out of ideas. All I have is prayers. That’s all I can do right now. And in my friend group, I’m one of the only guys who prays. Like, I’m friends with a lot of sinners. Like, just disgusting people. And they call me when they’re in trouble because they want me to pray for them. So I get a call from my buddy Brian. He’s stressed. He’s been in court for 10 months with his ex, and they’re fighting over the dog. He goes, “Dude, she doesn’t take care of the dog. She feeds him kibble, not wet food. I need him back. It’s just destroying my life. Please, man, pray for me.” I’m like, “I got you.”
An hour goes by. I get my friend Achmed calling me. His whole family is in Gaza. And he goes, “Ramy, they’re suffering. I don’t know where half of them are. I don’t know what to do. Please pray for them. It’s the only thing we can do. I’m like, “Dude, I got you.”
So that night, I go to pray, and my prayers are — complicated. I’ve got a lot to fit in. I’m like, “God, please, please help Achmed’s family. Please stop the suffering. Stop the violence. Please free the people of Palestine, please. And please free the hostages, all the hostages, please. And while you’re at it — you know, free Mr. Bojangles. He’s a beautiful dog. I’m praying for that dog.”
Here’s what a few other writers had to say about the monologue:
“Something Is Happening: There has been an indelible cultural shift when it comes to Palestine, and there's probably no going back.” (, Jack Mirkinson, 4/1/24)
On Saturday, comedian and actor Ramy Youssef was hosting Saturday Night Live, and he said this during his monologue: “Please stop the suffering, stop the violence. Please free the people of Palestine.” And the wildest thing happened: people clapped. Like, a lot. Even the band clapped.
Watching that, I got a feeling I’ve been getting a lot over the past six months: something is happening when it comes to Palestine. Something has indelibly shifted, and there is probably no going back.
SNL is not a place where people take radical stances. It’s not a place that wants to push the political envelope too far. This is the show that had Kate McKinnon sing “Hallelujah” in character as Hillary Clinton after the 2016 election (one of the most cringeworthy things to ever occur in the 4.54-billion-year history of Earth). This is the show whose idea of political humor is “Let’s get Nikki Haley on to do some jokes!”
And on Saturday, this temple of bland centrism featured a Muslim comedian saying “Free Palestine” and getting big applause. (Youssef also called for “all the hostages” to be freed.)
Something is happening.
“Ramy Youssef’s SNL monologue that talked Gaza was more than funny—it was historic.” (, Dean Obeidallah, 3/31/24)
Being the son of a Palestinian immigrant, I have followed the Middle East conflict for as long as I can remember. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has never been some far off political issue to my family. Rather, it was very immediate and personal given I had—and continue—to have Palestinian relatives living in the West Bank under Israeli occupation. Yet to be blunt, before the current conflict in Gaza, I rarely heard people speak out on behalf of Palestinian humanity. That has, thankfully, changed—as have the views of my fellow Democrats over the years who now overwhelmingly see Palestinians as human beings deserving of self-determination.
But still watching Egyptian American comedian/actor Ramy Youssef--who I’ve known for years—hosting Saturday Night Live this week was historic. Not just for who he is, but for what he said. In his monologue, the Golden Globe winning actor said, “Please free the people of Palestine, please.” And in response, the audience interrupted the monologue with extended applause. (Even the Hollywood Reporter noted Youssef “received loud applause” for that remark.)
“A Saturday Night Live Monologue That Felt More Like Prayer” (The Atlantic, Hannah Giorgis, 3/31/24)
The burden and fear that many Muslims feel in the U.S. is a subject of frequent consideration for Youssef. This story of self-censorship, which he also recounts in a new stand-up special now playing on Max, reflects the dissonance between outsiders’ distorted perceptions of Islam and the peacefulness that the Egyptian American comedian sees in his own community. Pointing out this tension early in his monologue gave an additional layer of meaning to the powerful message that Youssef closed with: “My prayers are complicated. I’ve got a lot to fit in. I’m like, ‘God, please, please help Ahmed’s family,’” he said, referencing a friend with family in Gaza. “Please stop the suffering. Stop the violence. Please free the people of Palestine, please.” After cheers and applause, Youssef continued: “Please. And please free the hostages, all the hostages, please.”
In its measured, empathetic defense of human life, Youssef’s monologue echoed his earlier statements calling for peace in Palestine and Israel: On the Oscars red carpet, for example, the Poor Things actor explained that he and others attending the ceremony had chosen to wear Artists4Ceasefire pins because “we really wanna say ‘Let’s just stop killing children.’” On SNL, Youssef took a tone similar to the one he’s used to explore the subject in More Feelings, his new special, and in his semi-autobiographical dramedy, Ramy, mixing meditation with comedy.
Great column. Thank you for posting the entire quote. The other writers you published did not seem to notice the that the prayer is also for the Israeli hostages and families who lost loved ones in the terrorist raid that started this one sided "war". What.is happening in Gaza is horrible as Netanyahu uses a terrible situation to tighten his control on Israel. I keep hoping President Biden will cut off all military aid to Israel until it agrees to a truce. But equally we cannot forget the hostages or see Hamas as anything but a terrorist organization that needs to be destroyed. Picking sides is not helpful.
Damn right things have shifted on Israel/Palestine, and the only person who doesn't seem to recognize it is Joe Biden. Recently he said "Israel is in a position where its very existence as at stake." What kind of 1967-era nonsense is that? Plucky little Israel, surrounded by enemies who want to push it into the sea, I was raised on rhetoric like this, and it's only about 50 years out of date. What happens if we have ceasefire? Do the Palestinians march on Tel Aviv and depose the government and hang Netanyahu from a lamppost? Israel is a military behemoth with NUCLEAR WEAPONS, it would continue to exist even under the most generous peace-settlement terms you can imagine. What will it take to get Biden to wake up to the reality of 2024?