UK comedian announces move to Israel, ‘the most dynamic, creative and positive place’

Since the Hamas massacre that prompted Israel’s military response in Gaza, numerous Jewish celebrities from around the world have come to show their support and solidarity.

Now, popular British comedian Lee Kern went one step further, announcing that he would leave Britain, which he described as “a dying society,” to make aliyah (immigrate) to the Jewish state.

“It’s the most dynamic, creative and positive place I’ve ever been - even though surrounded by Islamic fundamentalist psychopaths who daily try to destroy it,” Kern wrote on 𝕏.

Many Israelis congratulated him on his decision, including Minister of Immigration and Absorption Ofir Sofer, who wrote: “I thank you for the important decision to make aliyah to Israel during a war. I have no doubt that the thousands of olim (new immigrants) since Oct. 7 give Israel a backbone to defeat our enemy! Thank you!”

The popular former government spokesman, Eylon Levy, stated, “Welcome home, Lee. We love you.”

Kern is a writer and comedian most famous for the TV concept prank show "Celebrity Bedlam" and his work as a lead writer on Sacha Baron Cohen's series, "Who Is America?"

The British comedian elaborated on his decision in several other posts on 𝕏, explaining his reasons for moving to a beleaguered country that is currently in the middle of war.

“Israel is so outnumbered it's almost unfathomable. It has enemies to the north, south, east, and west. It is isolated and abandoned by those who said they were her friend. Any sensible person can see that on paper the odds are stacked against her,” Kern wrote.

“Rationally she doesn’t stand a chance. But she’s also the world’s only Jewish country. And I’m a Jew. It’s for this reason that I’m happy to say yes - of course I’m going to make aliyah. Because I back winners,” he added.

“The time I’ve spent in Israel since October has been transformative,” Kern wrote in another post.

“From experiencing rocket attacks to threats of annihilation, I’ve grown and live life better. The night Iran attacked was one of the funniest evenings of my life. The joy and laughter of my tribe is something some people will never understand. There are deep mystic chords of family between people I’ve never met but who would have stood alongside me at Sinai.”

“Racists will try to paint this as aloof and exclusionary – but there’s no reason why people can’t love their family. And Jews are my family… I can sit with Jews whose family were exiled to Ethiopia, Iraq, Yemen, Morocco, India, Russia – and the separation has changed our appearances – but we come back home to Israel and we know each other – our insides haven’t changed.”

He continued, “When I see our enemies investing so much energy into trying to be hostile, I feel detached curiosity. It’s strange seeing their misplaced belief that one more act of cruelty will somehow finish us. They don’t get it.”

“The glow from the burning bush still warms our lives and the hunger for revelation it has instilled in us still motivates, exhilarates and scintillates our souls. So when I see our enemies make animals of themselves in the futile belief they can devour all this, I just see it as a very bizarre and silly way for them to use their time on earth. They are losing out on so much of what this experience of life can be,” Kern wrote.