Jon Stewart gingerly dissects Netanyahu's upcoming visit to Washington

Jon Stewart doesn&#039;t want to talk about Israel

(Image credit: The Daily Show)

If President Obama is able to strike a nuclear deal with Iran, that's "just the sort of thing to retroactively justify a Nobel Peace Prize," Jon Stewart said on Thursday night's Daily Show. But House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a critic of the Iran talks, to address Congress, and the White House is irritated.

Talking about the petty politics "means we're going to have to talk about Israel, and whenever we do, we get the phone calls," Stewart sighed, pulling out a giant switchboard and shutting it off. Free to talk, he discussed the dilemma Democrats in Congress face, humorously mangled the story of King Solomon and the baby-splitting, and laughed at President Obama's assertion that the U.S. doesn't mess in Middle Eastern politics (Obama's stated reason for not meeting with Netanyahu). Finally, Stewart grimaced at a viral campaign ad that Netanyahu is running for the upcoming Israeli election: "Turns out Jews can't be funny in every country." Ring. Ring. —Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.