Some people might argue there’s nothing funny about what’s happening in the Middle East. But try telling that to Eric and Ryan Turkienicz, the Toronto-based brothers who created the Jewish parody news website The Daily Brine after Oct. 7. Some sample headlines: “Hamas’ Work-From-Tunnel Policy Absolutely Ruining Office Culture.” “US Proposes Letting Hamas Rule The Country On Weekends Plus Every Other Thursday.” “Jewish Voice For Peace Excited To Decolonize Shavuot Just As Soon As Someone Explains To Them What Shavuot Is.” The Daily Brine started off as a side gig, an outlet for Eric Turkienicz—a lawyer by day—to leverage the time he spent performing and writing comedy at The Second City. Ryan, who works in real estate, handles the graphic design and social media. Now, with more than 20,000 followers across Instagram and Twitter, the Canada brothers have grown their part-time hustle to the point that the president of Israel invited them for an in-person meeting last week. On today’s The CJN Daily, host Ellin Bessner meets the Turkienicz brothers to discuss the real meaning behind the project: to provide uplifting, biting, and amusing pro-Israel content that punches up at the antisemites and the powers that be.

Related links

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Learn more about buying their merchandise, including T-shirts.

Credits

Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
Music: Dov Beck-Levine

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The Onion, but make it Jewish: Meet the Canadian brothers behind a new pro-Israel comedy news site