Some of you may already be familiar with Michael Rapaport from his many movie and television appearances, including a role on Cheers in one of its later seasons. He also has been carrying on a busy career as a standup comic. In that role, he was scheduled to appear this month at a club called The Comedy Vault in Batavia, Illinois on the West Side of Chicago. But that turned out to be a problem. You see, in addition to telling jokes, Rapapart has been very active on social media and he has been a staunch supporter of Israel throughout the war in Gaza. The pro-Hamas crowd obviously couldn't tolerate that, so they began demanding that the club cancel the shows. Some submitted death threats. The Comedy Vault knuckled under and now Rapaport's shows have been canceled. (CBS News)

The Comedy Vault in Batavia has canceled next weekend's shows from comedian Michael Rapaport after reportedly receiving death threats.

Just days ago, a local pro-Palestinian organization posted on social media, asking supporters to call the club and demand they cancel all of Rapaport's shows.

In addition to comedy, Rapaport is known for his pro-Israel social media presence, which has generated controversy.

The Comedy Vault has issued a response, saying in part, "We have decided that we cannot, in good conscience, proceed with a show that poses such a significant safety risk to our staff, audience members, and the community as a whole.

This is just a sad state of affairs. This guy isn't a politician. He's a comedian. And now people are threatening to kill him and damage his livelihood just because he supports Israel in the ongoing conflict? That's a really "peaceful" protest movement you people have cooked up. And it's not just Rapaport you're damaging, by the way. When shows are canceled on short notice like this, you're probably causing a lot of other people such as bartenders and waiters to miss work on those nights, no matter what their personal politics regarding Israel and Hamas may be. But I assume you could care less about them, either.

None of this seems to be affecting Michael Rapaport very much. I checked in on his Twitter account this morning and he still appears to be going strong. His pinned tweet is an appeal for the release of one of the Hamas hostages named Shlomo Mansour. He publishes appeals for other hostages as well. Oh, and he goes after the Ayatollah in Iran pretty hard. 

Just sat JEWISH REGIME, you old bag of shit. https://t.co/inZfcOI3vl

— MichaelRapaport (@MichaelRapaport) June 3, 2024

You can read the full statement from the Comedy Vault at the link above. They aren't siding with the pro-Hamas rioters or anyone for that matter. They state that they could not proceed with the show "in good conscience" if it would place the performers, audience, or employees at risk. In the face of multiple death threats, they decided to shut down the performances out of an abundance of caution.

This is another case of the pro-Hamas crowd taking a page from the class of "professional disruptors" who have been training them. They aren't putting out a message or trying to influence political leaders. They are trying to disrupt and shut down normal society. And they will quickly resort to threats of violence if not actual physical violence if they don't get their way. They are spoiled children playing with dangerous adult toys.

They've shut down college campuses and graduations and now they are shutting down public facilities and businesses. Does everyone remember back during the Summer of Love when leftist mobs were "confronting" Republicans and conservatives in public places like restaurants and stores, seeking to drive them out and silence them? It's the same game being replayed, largely by the same group of people. Only this time they are turning their misplaced anger on Israel and anyone who supports Israel. Michael Rapaport is only the latest victim of these attacks. I can assure you that he will not be the last.