Bassem Youssef backs Stewart’s Gaza stand

Egyptian political satirist Bassem Youssef praised on Wednesday his American counterpart Jon Stewart for his stance on the U.S. media’s coverage of the escalation in Gaza.

The popular U.S. comedian dedicated a segment of his show, “The Daily Show,” on Monday to blow the whistle on what he implied was a biased U.S. media coverage of the topic.

In several tweets, Youssef praised Stewart’s sketch and stated that it was not the first time Stewart had taken such a stand.

Youssef also posted an old sketch of Stewart, discussing the criticism facing the building of the commonly known Ground Zero Mosque nearby the site of the 9/11 attack.

Youssef added that Stewart had “even spoke against Islamophobia.”

Western, Israeli reactions

While the sketch has been praised by some, the host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” has come under fire by most Western and Israeli media outlets.

Times of Israel’s founding Editor David Horovitz published an article criticizing the sketch.

In the article, titled “Jon Stewart – so funny, so wrong on Israel-Gaza,” Horovitz claimed that Stewart’s portrayal “misrepresents what’s going on here.”

In the U.S., reportedly Conservative radio host Mark Levin ranted against Stewart.

“Jon Stewart has about 30 writers and is a knee-jerk idiot,” Levin said, before proceeding to defend Israel’s actions to protect itself against an “existential” threat it faces in the region, according to Politico website.

Bassem Youssef announced the cancellation of his own once-popular satirical talk show al-Bernameg (The Program) recently.

The announcement was made in a press conference last June, during which Youssef said that the decision was made by the crew of the show.