An Inside Joke
Knock-knock.
Who’s there?
A bunch of kids who need your help…
The Crossroads Center is tackling a new and troubling reality: at-risk, English-speaking teens on the streets of downtown Jerusalem. The work we do–combatting drug addictions, sexual abuse, emotional crises, and more–is no laughing matter.
Or is it?
Since 2005, American-Israeli comedian and Crossroads Center supporter Avi Liberman has organized the Crossroads Comedy Benefit. Proceeds from stand-up performances in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Raanana by Liberman and three of his professional peers directly benefit the kids you met at the top of this page: Anglo youth who leave the streets, knock on our door, step inside, and turn their lives around.
In 2007, Crossroads Comedy featured stand-up artists Gary Gulman (from Tourgasm), Dwight Slade (who has opened for Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno, and performed for US troops in Afghanistan), and Craig Robinson (from the sitcom The Office and the romantic comedy Knocked Up), in addition to mentsh Liberman.
Our shows in Tel Aviv, Raanana, and Jerusalem were huge successes, with significantly more ticket sales (and therefore profits, and therefore funds for Center programming) than in years past. In Jerusalem, we actually sold out!
We will definitely be holding another Crossroads Comedy series in the summer of 2008, and hopefully in December 2007 as well. If you want to be kept up-to-date with regard to our stand-up schedule, just get us your email address. We’ll take care of the rest.
Start spreading the word. The Crossroads Comedy Benefit is a chance to see not just comedy, and not just English-language comedy, and not just good English-language comedy: it’s an opportunity to see good English-language comedy for a good cause.
And how many times will you have the opportunity to perform a mitzva that makes you laugh?