Jon Stewart’s Shout-Outs to the Tribe

Joyce Culver/92nd Street Y
At the 92nd Street Y last night, Jon Stewart talked with Terry Gross about politics, the media and — of course — himself. In the meantime, he was sure to play to his core 92Y audience: the Jews.
Here are some of the shout-outs he made to the tribe:
-
“It’s a pleasure to be here at the 92nd Street Y. This is actually the third holiest place in the Jewish religion. I believe it goes: Wailing Wall, Zabars, here.”
-
Gross: Are you nervous?
-
Stewart: Am I a Jew? Is that what you’re asking?
-
On his brother, Larry Leibowitz, chief operating officer of the New York Stock Exchange: “Changed his name from Stewart. Wanted to seem more ‘financial.’”
- Gross: Do you take anything [for your insomnia]?
-
Stewart: [long pause] Manischewitz.
-
Gross: What music was played at your Bar Mitzvah?
-
Stewart: Oh, wow, I don’t know. This was before people hired the Yankees to come to their Bar Mitzvah. (Stewart also mentioned that he was on crutches on his big day — from “playing basketball on a skateboard.”)
-
Gross, reading an audience question: What role does Judaism play in your professional life?
-
Stewart: Wow, what a surprise, getting that question at the 92nd Street Y. Wait, I bet they’re all like that. Next question: In your professional life, Judaism, does it play a role? Well, what do you want me to say? …I would consider myself Reform in that this year, for Yom Kippur, I had a bacon, egg and cheese croissandwich.
So maybe Stewart isn’t quite as Jewish as the 92Y diehards might hope (or maybe nobody really cares), but he pulled at least one move as Jewish as fasting on Yom Kippur: As the time drew to a close, and Gross warned that the interview could go on all night, Stewart cut her off — with a rousing rendition of “Sunrise, Sunset.”
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture I have seen the future of America — in a pastrami sandwich in Queens
-
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
-
Opinion Gaza and Trump have left the Jewish community at war with itself — and me with a bad case of alienation
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.