Jon Stewart on What It’s Like To Talk About Israel as a Jew

By Anne Cohen July 22, 2014

Making jokes about Israel can be tricky. No one knows this better than Jon Stewart, who has been criticized for remarks he made on ?The Daily Show? pointing out the asymmetrical distribution of force in Operation Protective Edge.

So in a segment on Monday night, Stewart responded using what he does best ? comedy. Every time the host mentions the word ?Israel,? the show?s entire roster of correspondents starts shouting at him. Over and over again.

?Look, obviously there are many strong opinions on this,? Stewart said when the verbal onslaught finally subsided. ?But just merely mentioning Israel or questioning in any way the effectiveness or humanity of Israel?s policies is not the same thing as being pro-Hamas.?

Cue the tongue-lashing ? and on to a ?lighter? topic: Ukraine.

Check out the whole clip below:

Anne Cohen was the Forward’s deputy digital media editor. When she’s not looking for the secret Jewish history of Voodoo in New Orleans, or making lists about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she writes for The Assimilator. She graduated from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism with an M.S. magazine concentration in 2012.