Late Night USA Jon Stewart's wild ride across the Middle East ends with ... Trump
Jon Stewart takes the audience of the "Daily Show" on a wild ride in which the late-night legend begins with criticism of Israel's government, criticizes US arms supplies - and ends with anti-Semitism.
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- Jon Stewart criticizes the war in the Middle East and in particular the phrase "de-escalation through escalation" on the "Daily Show".
- The Jewish late-night host also criticizes Washington for supplying weapons without knowing about their use.
- While criticism of the war or of Prime Minister Netanyahu is rejected on US TV, many Israelis object in no uncertain terms.
- The presenter has his very own answer to the argument that such criticism promotes anti-Semitism.
"What if you really want to experience the full cognitive dissonance and linguistic gymnastics," Jon Stewart begins on the "Daily Show", "that must be applied to describe what's been going on in the Middle East for the last 5, 6 ... I don't know, 10,000 years?"
It is not easy to talk about what is happening in Israel and its neighboring countries, muses the Jewish New Yorker and after 29 seconds shows a CNN clip with the Israeli analyst Barak Ravid.
"What the Israeli government is saying - and the Biden administration has supported this idea in many ways -" Ravid explains, "is 'de-escalation through escalation'."
Jon Stewart looks, ...
... pretends to take notes and says: "Or - as they sometimes call it - 'war'!" Stewart is on a roll: "Do you ever listen to yourselves? De-escalation through escalation, where have I heard that before?"
De-escalation through escalation
The 61-year-old rummages under the table and pulls out a copy of George Orwell's dystopia "1984". "No, it's not in there," he says, rummages around again and picks up Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse 5 or The Children's Crusade". "No, it's not in that," he says again, and the game starts all over again, but this time ends with "Garfield - Fat Cat 3-Pack".
"But here's the worst part," Stewart turns serious. "The country that's supplying the Middle East with all the bombs - although I guess we have to call the bombs escalators now - seems to have no idea when those bombs are being used."
In the clip from minute 2:26, a White House spokeswoman states: "We were not informed by the Israelis of their attack or its target." Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterates: "This is not something we were aware of or involved in." And: "The United States knew nothing about these incidents."
A juicy line
"They're not telling you anything, are they?" asks Stewart heretically, "Have you checked your pagers?" The allusion is, of course, to the intelligence operation against Hezbollah forces with exploding communications equipment that killed hundreds and injured thousands.
"My God," the late-night legend continues, "there must be other ways to achieve de-escalation besides this 'respectful exchange of rockets'." There have been such possibilities, but Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu seems to have no interest in them.
"Oh my God," Stewart clutches his mouth in mock horror, "I criticized Netanyahu. What have I done?" The clip from minute 3:19 shows what the presenter is alluding to: A TV commentator brands criticism of Netanyahu and the war as "disgraceful". Another says that such criticism pleases Hamas.
What kind of anti-Semite is Israel's former prime minister?
"You know who might be surprised to hear that?" asks Stewart. "The Israelis who are incredibly critical of the war and of Netanyahu." In the clip from minute 4:29, heads from Israel have their say, denouncing the government and stating that Netanyahu is doing everything he can to prevent peace.
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"What kind of anti-Semites are the former Prime Minister of Israel and the Secretary of Defense," the host exclaims. "And yet people will watch this segment and say, 'Okay, Israel may not be perfect, but criticizing it pours fuel on the fire. Aren't you worried about anti-Semitism?"
But he would deny that: "I think anti-Semitism will be fine," Stewart festers. "It's very resilient in my experience. It's also not really tied to any event or war or activity or reality. For God's sake: Kanye [West] thought we messed up his Adidas deal. We didn't. We just need insoles, that's all."
"Anti-Semitism will survive the war"
The 23-time Emmy winner continues with the finale: "Anti-Semitism will survive the war - just as it has survived all wars since the brave Hebrews of Masada." Now the camera changes, Stewart leans into the picture and says confidentially: "You see, Rabbi? I paid very close attention in Sunday school."
"You know what?" the lecture ends, "maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the accusations about the plague, the Spanish Inquisition or Jewish space lasers will stop when Israel gets it right and peace reigns. People will no longer gratuitously and conveniently blame the Jews when things don't go exactly as they'd like."
Then follows this excerpt:
Donald Trump says it's the Jews' fault if he loses. "Son of a bitch," is Stewart's final comment.
