Image by Comedy Central

(JTA) — For years, it has been written about and on Thursday night it was sealed: Jon Stewart is proud to be Jewish.

With just two weeks left before he leaves “The Daily Show” after a 16-year run as host — and well ahead of the High Holidays — he appears to be tying up loose ends. Stewart made his Jewish pride clear in a segment titled “A Look Back: Let His People Laugh.”

Senator Chuck Schumer made a surprise appearance as a follow-up to his inclusion on the previous night’s show, which poked fun at the lawmaker’s preference for talking about diner food rather than addressing the Iran deal. (“What have you done?” Stewart asked MSNBC, about its choice of location for its interview with Schumer last weekend. “You brought an old New York Jewish man to a diner!”)

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Conversation about diner breakfast food inevitably led to a Jewish joke, with Stewart quipping to the audience:

“How did you know I was Jewish? For years, I have gone out of my way to avoid displaying any of the stereotypical characteristics of our shared heritage.”

“Then Jon, you have failed spectacularly,” Schumer said. “So tonight, I’d actually like to celebrate your membership in the Tribe.”

That served as a cue for a concise but hysterically memorable video of some of Stewart’s best Jewish moments on the show – of which there are far too many to cram into a four-minute video. A partial list of the Yiddish or Hebrew words Stewart says in the video includes shalom, mazel tov, schmutz, bubbe, dayenu, shpilkes, punum, minyan, meshuganah and bubkes.

After the video concluded, Schumer asked Stewart: “Now would you show up at synagogue every once in a while? We miss you!”

Watch the entire video below.

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.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

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.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount