The New Era of Jewish Comedians (and the Making of Lyle Culpepper)

Jews haven’t had a whole lot to laugh about in the past year and a half. (Something about watching mobs of people chant for your death just doesn’t quite tickle the funny bone.) In these dark times, the healing power of laughter is needed more than ever. And lucky for us, there’s a new era of Jewish comedians who’ve answered the call.

We can’t talk about comics emerging into the mainstream after October 7th without mentioning Zach Sage Fox. His viral social experiments like ‘Gaza Graduation’ and ‘Are You a Zionist? The Game Show’ reveal just how little the droves of people echoing anti-Jewish sentiments actually know about the situation. He’s a brilliant content creator who has perfected the balance between combating misinformation and thoroughly entertaining us at the same time.

And then there’s Yechiel Jacobs, who expertly rips to shreds haters who post false information—editing in his slapstick interjections with elaborate gestures and trademark accent…all from the front seat of his car. His flawless retorts and side-splitting delivery have earned him the title “That facts and laughter together Jew” from I’m That Jew mastermind Eitan Chitayat. Yechiel’s hilarious voice of reason has been integral to my sanity the past eighteen months, and I couldn’t be happier he’s now headlining sold-out stand-up comedy shows.

Another standout (and one of my favorites) is L.E. Staiman, creator of the funny-because-it’s-true alter ego Lyle Culpepper. Perfectly portrayed by Staiman, Lyle is a spot-on caricature of the clueless Gen Z terror sympathizer we’ve become all too familiar with. Sporting a keffiyeh and disheveled wig that suggests he’s spent far too many nights in a college encampment, Lyle inserts himself into the latest (atrocious) news scenario and then the fun begins.

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A post shared by L.E. Staiman (@lestaiman)

Lyle’s Instagram bio tells you everything you need to know about L.E.’s sense of humor: “Spreading light and love through global intifada…there are lots of other antisemites you could be following, so thanks for choosing me.” As someone who can’t stop laughing at Lyle’s antics, I knew I wanted more intel on this situation. L.E. was kind enough to answer my questions.

Leah Grossman: First of all—thank you for making us laugh, it’s so needed right now. How did the idea to create Lyle Culpepper come about?

L.E. Staiman: The first iteration of Lyle was a one-off video that I made in response to the Osama bin Laden charter going viral, which was shortly after October 7th. All these videos started popping up on TikTok where people had turned Osama bin Laden into this folk hero, and were citing his charter as this incredible work. It was such a weird upside-down world, so I made one video where I was jumping on the bandwagon—I had the keffiyeh and the wig—and I was pretending to be one of these characters who was in love with Osama bin Laden.

The video got enough attention that I was like, okay I think there might be something here…I think people like this character. So I started dipping my toes into the water of making more videos with this character. He didn’t have a name, I wasn’t really sure who he was…he was just your typical super ultra-left protestor. I spent more and more time trying to figure out who the character was and responding to news stories, and it just developed from there.

Leah: You work fast—by the time I’ve become annoyed with a development in the news, you’ve already posted a video of Lyle hilariously exposing the absurdities of the situation. What’s your process for creating new material?

L.E.: I have a few rules that I don’t think I’ve ever really said out loud, but there are specific things that I look for. One of the things I look for is obvious hypocrisy that I can make fun of, and an obvious spin where it’s one level deeper than whatever is being said. So my parody is pretty close to the things that are being said in real life, but there’s a level of absurdity where most people should be able to process the fact that this is parody and this is satire.

The things I look for when I insert myself into videos is I try to find stuff that’s filmed on a tripod already, because it makes it a lot easier to insert myself in. And I choose events that are in line with where Lyle would be if he was a real person—like of course he’s at the Mahmoud Khalil rally. And then I’ve developed a system to insert myself digitally where I can work very, very quickly because I’ve just done so many of these.

Leah: You must have experience with video production—tell me about your professional background. Is Lyle keeping you occupied full-time, or do you have a day job?

L.E.: I have a pretty extensive background in film, that’s all I’ve really done for the past decade and a half. I started off in the music world—I was in a band and I produced music for other bands and artists. I moved out to L.A. and sort of fell in love with the filmmaking process. I started making music videos, so I went from making music videos to directing commercials. And then I made two movies in L.A., one of which I co-wrote and directed.

And then around the time of October 7th I started getting into the social media space. I really wasn’t in the social media space before that, but felt an obligation to speak up. And I wasn’t doing comedy videos at all, I was doing more serious stuff. And then when the Lyle character started to pop off, that was my transition. But I’ve made a living writing, directing, and editing for many years. I also do other freelance writing, directing, and editing for organizations and companies, but this is all I’m doing essentially.

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A post shared by ארץ נהדרת (@eretznehederet)

Leah: Have you always been funny? Did you admire any comedians growing up, and have any of them managed to retain your respect post-October 7th?

L.E.: I think I’ve always been funny…I’ve always been interested in comedy. I was a big SNL fan growing up, and I got to do a movie with Cheri Oteri which was pretty cool.

I will say I’ve probably been more disappointed than I have been impressed by comedians specifically post-October 7th. But there are some newer comedians that have actually spoken up, like Andrew Schulz has been pretty good about it.

Leah: You seem to have a good rapport with other Jewish comedians—from an outsider’s perspective you all seem to be really collaborative rather than competitive. Is it actually like that?

L.E.: Totally, a hundred percent. I wasn’t in the influencer space before so I don’t know what it’s like in the non-Jewish, non pro-Israel space, but yeah—it’s incredibly collaborative. It’s funny, there are little scuffles that happen in this space, either on Instagram or in real life, but for the most part it’s a really collaborative space. I think because it’s so small, people want to help each other and want to make stuff together. It doesn’t feel catty or competitive, it feels like a bunch of people that are working towards the same goals.

Leah: I love that, it’s so nice to hear. Last question: We’re all praying for the war to end and for some semblance of peace and normalcy to return to our daily lives. When this happens, will you continue to make people laugh? What will your content feature when we don’t have a constant stream of antisemitic events to unleash Lyle Culpepper on?

L.E.: It’s such an interesting question. Unfortunately, I think we’re going to be fighting antisemitism for a long time, if not forever. I also think that Lyle can exist in a world where even if antisemitism went away, I think there are issues that Lyle could tackle. I don’t think that discourse is gonna end and I don’t think that everyone’s gonna get along and have shared values and opinions. So unfortunately I don’t think Lyle’s going anywhere.

We’re also working on bigger projects—we have a Lyle TV show in the works right now with some pretty big people (I can’t really name names yet). And then some other stuff that’s not Lyle-related, but almost all in the comedy space. So there will definitely be more comedy regardless of whether Lyle is needed or not.

L to R: Elon Gold, L.E. Staiman as Lyle Culpepper, Ami Kozak (Elon Gold show 3/19/25 Aventura, FL)

I was lucky enough to see L.E. perform in a live show for headliner Elon Gold, along with very funny openers Avi Liberman and Eli Leonard, and master impersonator Ami Kozak (seriously…you’ve got to hear his Trump impression). To say it was a fun night is an understatement.

The show began with Am Yisrael Chai blasting through the speakers, which put everyone in a good mood (way to know your audience, guys). Elon Gold took the stage of the 330-seat venue in Aventura, Florida and proudly proclaimed: “There are twelve thousand five hundred people here tonight! According to the Gaza Ministry of Health.”

Even the over-sixty crowd erupted into laughter, and it didn’t stop all night.

A little levity goes a long way right now, and this isn’t even a comprehensive account of all the people who are providing it. To every comedian using their talents to uplift the Jewish community—whether humorously dispelling the lies or just giving us a long overdue chuckle—thank you.

It sure feels good to laugh.