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| By: israelinsider staff |
| Published: April 12, 2007 |
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Jon Stewart brought Israeli issues to the airways, and to a younger audience, as the Israeli Ambassador to the UN became the first-ever ambassador to grace the stage of the Comedy Central news parody, The Daily Show.
Ambassador Dan Gillerman appeared on The Daily Show, hosted by the Jewish Jon Stewart, in an effort to improve Israel's ever-struggling public image in the minds of a new audience.
John Oliver, the show's sarcastic correspondent, interviewed Gillerman on "The Big Falafel," asking the ambassador questions on Israel's rumored nukes and suggesting last summer's Lebanon war be called "Operation Desert Schmear."
(Or click here to watch: Oliver's Travels: Israel)
Though appearing on the satirical Emmy-winning program could be potentially risky, the interview proceeded smoothly, Gillerman maintaining a straight face despite being asked about Israel's creative process in naming wars and the nuclear plans of a fictional country named "Fisrael."
Oliver began the interview by asking Gillerman to once and for all put to rest the "nasty conspiracy theory" that Israel is being run by Jews. Gillerman confirms this, to Oliver's surprise, the journalist responding, "You have to admit that it's totally fakakta."
Oliver then congratulates Gillerman over Israel's war record of "6 and 0, with some asterisks," alluding to last summer's Second Lebanon War, and asks the ambassador if Israel comes up with the war names before or after the wars.
"What's your creative process?" Oliver asks, to which Gillerman responds, slightly smirking, that Israel decides the names after the war.
Oliver then suggests that The Second Lebanon War be called "Operation Desert Schmear"
The Daily Show correspondent then moves the conversation to Israel's supposed nuclear weapons. After being frustrated by Gillerman's denial of their existence, Oliver tries another approach.
"Let's say, I've got a friend, and he's an ambassador to a country called Fisrael; and he's having a bit of trouble with an enemy in Iroon. Should he use his nuclear weapons against Iroon?" Oliver asks.
"Israel has never said that it has nuclear weapons," Gillerman states.
"No, no. Fisrael. Does Fisrael have nuclear weapons?" Oliver continues.
"Well I think you'll have to ask the Fisraeli ambassador," Gillerman answers, to much laughter and applause from the audience.
Oliver concludes the interview by asking "powerful Jew" Gillerman to pass on his screenplay "Pimpin' is Easy", to his Jewish friends in Hollywood, the two proceeding to read aloud some of it's dialogue, and Gillerman maintaining composure throughout the ridiculous scene.
"The Daily Show recently started a new section of the show in which it interviews foreign ambassadors in the United States. The aim is to reach the under-21 sector in the US and Canada -- 80 percent of whom get all of their news updates from late-night TV shows like those of David Letterman, Jay Leno and Jon Stewart, rather than from the big news networks," reported Ynetnews.
The Daily Show provides this disclaimer before every show: "The show you are about to watch is a news parody. Its stories are not fact checked. Its reporters are not journalists. And its opinions are not fully thought through." |
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