Last week I posted about Jay Leno’s impending trip to Israel. And we know anyone willing to ignore the anti-Israel bullies and BDSHoles has to be ok.
But it turns out, Jay is a super mensch when it comes to Israel.
The late night legend is heading to Israel on May 22 to host the awards ceremony of the $1 million Genesis Prize in Jerusalem. Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is being honored as the first recipient of what has been dubbed “the Jewish Nobel Prize” for his years of public service and philanthropy.
Netanyahu will headline a list of more than 400 dignitaries in the audience that will include business leaders, Nobel laureates, philanthropists and entertainers. Grammy-winning pianist Evgeny Kissin will also perform.
Leno said he will run his jokes by the “appropriate people” ahead of time to avoid saying anything inappropriate. But he said Netanyahu and Bloomberg, one of the world’s richest men, can expect to be the target of some of his zingers.
“I think everybody around the world appreciates self-deprecating humor, and I think you can do jokes about the prime minister, and Michael Bloomberg getting the award certainly,” Leno said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. “They’re giving him $1 million. Wow. That’s going to change his life.”
For Leno, the trip will be his first to Israel. At a time when pro-Palestinian activists are urging entertainers to boycott the Jewish state, he said he didn’t have “any problem” with his decision to perform. “It’s a great honor. It’s a great country. It’s a great people,” he said.
While said he sees both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said he considers himself to be “very pro-Jewish, very pro-Israeli.” Leno himself is not Jewish.
“At some point in your life, you have to sort of take sides. I tend to side with the Jewish point of view on many things, especially issues like this one. I realize how important Israel is,” he said.
A more than worthy addition to the list.
