Drag, Women, and Gender in Hayehudim Baim

The Israeli sketch comedy show Hayehudim Baim (The Jews are Coming) is somewhat unusual in Israeli pop culture in that it tends to focus not on current events or contemporary Israel, but rather Jewish and Israeli history, including biblical stories and religious figures. The satirical show pokes fun at Jewish culture and Israeli history and politics using a number of techniques, including hyperbole, parody, and comedic midrash. One recurring feature of Hayehudim Baim’s sketches, particularly those about biblical figures and episodes, is the use of drag, specifically male actors dressed as female characters. In particular, one recurring bit featuring the biblical patriarch Jacob and his two wives, the sisters Rachel and Leah, makes use of drag as part of its comedic midrash, which centers on the characterization of the two women and their unusual relationship with Jacob and with each other. This paper will explore the role of drag in Hayehudim Baim through the lens of these biblical sketches, examining the way it both allows for transgressive representations of canonical Jewish figures at the same time as it reinforces a normative Israeli masculinity that reads drag as a joke.









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