By Ilana Siyance
Following six years of absence on a regular TV series, Jon Stewart is back.
A new talk show entitled, “The Problem with Jon Stewart” premiered on Thursday night on Apple TV+. A new episode will debut every two weeks, featuring in-depth talks about a variety of political topics, as per JTA. Stewart hosted “The Daily Show” from 1999 to 2015, which was largely a satirical comedy. Thursday’s first episode of the new show included numerous reflections from Stewart about how old he looks as well as how little his audience is laughing. In a behind-the-scenes brainstorming session, Stewart candidly and accurately pointed to the tricky nature of the show—to keep the comedy while addressing topics that he takes seriously.
Originally a stand-up comedian, Stewart was born in New York City as Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz. His parents, both educators, divorced when he was 11. Stewart is a Jew, who has made multiple public references to his Judaism throughout his comedy career. The 58-year-old television host and political commentator has said that he experienced anti-Semitic bullying as a child.
Stewart’s first famous cracks about being Jewish date back to the 1990s during his standup comedy routines. “I’m a Jewish guy, but I’m not a serious Jew,” he said, pointing out that he doesn’t wear a kippah, which he told the audience is not actually called a “Jew beanie.” Stewart went on to say that though he does believe in G-d, he thinks that so many years after creating the world, G-d may have “moved on to another project.”
Of course, Stewart has also taken up the topic of the State of Israel numerous times. “I’m a Jewish guy, I’ve been to Israel, I’m really glad it’s there, but there will never be peace there,” Stewart said in one standup routine from 1996. As per JTA, he joked that “Jesus, Muhammad and Moses all went to the same high school”, noting that all three religious giants give Israel and Jerusalem significance.
In a 2014 segment for “The Daily Show”, while Gaza was the center of attention, Stewart had said “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.”
There is a good chance we will be hearing more Jewish cracks from Stewart on his new show. Since he left The Daily Show, Stewart has kept mostly a low profile in entertainment, but has been an outspoken defender for 9/11 first responders as well as war veterans’ health benefits.
