Judaism

Born and raised a Jew, Jon Stewart regularly refers to his heritage in his stories, sometimes simply for flavor, and sometimes to make a point. In the opening story, "Breakfast at Kennedy's," his unnamed narrator is the only Jewish student at Connecticut's prestigious Choate Preparatory School, allowed to attend because his father runs the commissary. Jack Kennedy, the future president, is two years ahead of him and is the only Roman Catholic. As minorities they bond. Kennedy regularly jokes about his Jewish friend, calling his room the Yeshiva, defending him to others as a "terrific yid," chiding about "kikefights," and admiring his pluck as "The Zippy Zionist." When he visits the Kennedy estate at Hyannis, the narrator is given a room in a separate wing, jocularly labeled "Dachau," the infamous Nazi death camp of World War II. Still, the narrator insists that Jack is not prejudiced and cites...