Lior Schleien is Israel’s Jon Stewart and he’s on a mission. Two missions, really. One, to get Israeli youth to understand the existentially high stakes of the upcoming election1, which for half a million of them will be their first as voters. And second, to help Americans who have been turned off to Israel, particularly American Jews, to see Israel from his perspective. Please take a look at this short video Schleien just released, and then by all means, share it - today - with your confused, dispirited, and angry former Israel-supporting relatives and friends. Unlike so much “hasbara2” out there, it is not condescending or overly defensive, and it does not deny the seriousness of the problem. But it does so with humor.
Humor is often the best way to break though barriers of misinformation, and Schleien has been specializing in that for years. But the fact that he is now directing his message to those of us in the English-speaking world is a big deal. We may have lost Stephen Colbert this week, but we have gained Lior Schleien.3
In this video, he compares the US-Israel relationship to a lovers’ spat, acknowledging the bipartisan contempt expressed for Israel by Democrats and Republicans alike. He places much of the blame for that at the feet of Prime Minister Netanyahu, which is valid, though in my mind too glib. It’s too easy to call him the root of all evil, when at the root of all this evil is the fascism and religious supremacism embedded in Christian Nationalism here and Kahanism in Israel. It’s the Kahanist Itamar Ben Gvir who performed the Abu Ghraib-like abduction of the Gaza flotilla last week, an abusive act so degrading that it made even Netanyahu wince (probably more on PR grounds than moral ones). Ben Gvir should have been fired on the spot. The greatest threat to Israeli democracy is Kahanism, a movement that was banned from the Knesset for decades before Netanyahu made his deal with the devil in 2022, and invited it in.
But for most Americans, Netanyahu is the bogeyman4, and so Schleien goes with it. Schleien’s half-hearted excuse for some of Israel’s excesses is, “Sometimes you say things you don’t mean.” And then with a metaphorical wink to America, “Sometimes you elect people you don’t mean.”
“But we’re working on it,” he concludes. “We have elections in six months. So come on, America. Please give us another chance. We know we haven’t been ourselves lately. But we can change… Our government.”
Some might take exception to Schleien laying all of Israel’s sins at Bibi’s door, or of minimizing, to some degree, the psychological impact of October 7 or Israel’s inexplicable trust in America’s con man president. Many believe Israel bears no responsibility for the fact that Bernie Sanders and Tucker Carlson can now walk hand-in-hand opposing Israel in bipartisan bliss.
Schleien also doesn’t weigh into the blame game that is obsessing American Jews right now. Some are calling proud Zionists who simply seek a two-state solution “appeasers” or worse. Israel’s ambassador to the US recently called two-state proponent J-Street “a cancer” - a remark that was itself cancerous - and hundreds of Jewish leaders, including myself, signed a letter demanding an apology. There’s an awful lot of blaming going on within the Jewish community. “Who lost Israel?” has becoming this generation’s “Who lost China?” But it’s all a distraction. None of that will matter if things go badly this fall.
Schleien himself is addressing the many Israelis who don’t seem to understand the perils that would face an increasingly isolated Israel if the current course continues. Schleien explains that pro-Israel progressives are simply people who want to see Israel continue to be a light unto the nations, at the crossroads of a flourishing world where science, culture and education meet, where creative ideas are exchanged freely and where students can study and build a better future together. Where, at the very least, American students can spend a semester abroad without spending half of it in bomb shelters.
Is that too much to ask? To want to see Jerusalem as a 21st century Athens, rather than Netanyahu’s dark vision of a Sparta5 in a perpetual state of warfare?
Schleien’s plea here to Americans is simple. Let us Israelis work this out. Let us go to the polls, but lend us your support, he’s saying, rather than your disdain, as we try to get rid of these guys. And if you can help us save decency and democracy in Israel this coming September and October, it will give pro-democracy forces in the US a huge boost in November.
To be blunt - Bernie, I know you smell blood in the water, but it’s time to back off just a little. Newsom and Shapiro, embrace the liberal forces of Bibi’s opposition. We know that Trump will embrace Bibi (if they are on speaking terms). You too, Jon Stewart and John Oliver6. And Jon, meet me at Camera Three.
Jon - we met at your nephew’s bar mitzvah. Your niece’s bat mitzvah too. You had an aliyah and did a nice job - I told you you’d be fine, that after you had just hosted the Oscars, you were used to a tough crowd. You’re an amazing source of pride for American Jews. So partner with this Schleien guy. Bring him on as a guest. Unify to beat Bibi, even if it means holding your nose with some of your condemnation of the country. Let’s use Hungary as a model of unity for the upcoming election and work toward a similar result.
Neither Schleien nor I are suggesting that legitimate criticism be stifled. I’m just saying that outright vilification right now is not helpful, because it is so easy for even legitimate criticism to contain a whiff of antisemitism, even if just in the timing (ask Nick Kristof). A little less outrage will give the forces for sanity in Israel the boost they need to drag democracy over the finish line. If everyone in Israel is focused on the nasty things Americans are saying, like the preoccupation with genocide and whether dogs are capable of rape, backs will stiffen, defenses will be raised, people will just get angrier, and angry people tend to support angry candidates.
We’re just playing into the algorithms folks. We’re just stirring up the hate.
And, a special memo for those who salivate at the chance to attack Israel at the slightest provocation: Please, when Jews are attacked, anywhere, rush to condemn that too - unequivocally, without need to add “context.” Run, don’t walk, to hug your closest Jewish neighbor. Link the fight for democracy and decency here with what’s happening there.
Democracy is the true intersectionality.
The dominos are falling: Hungary-Israel-America.
And all this will help America in the fall.
Give us a chance, Schleien is saying to democracy-loving Americans, and come November, we Israelis just might give you a most precious gift.7
Hasbara is a Hebrew word for positive PR about Israel.
BTW, Colbert would do lots of good taking a similar tack, getting on the road and talking with American young people as our midterms approach.
From Pew, April 2026
“Super-Sparta” speech
Schleien has rebutted John Oliver on Gaza in the past.
And check other recent videos, as he challenges Israel youth, including settlers. Polls indicate that most Israeli first-time voters are right wing. If you think of the world they’ve grown up in, you can understand why. But he is breaking through.
Until the bloody Netanyahu’s government is gone, it seems like an uphill battle.
All political leaders who stay in power for more than twelve years always devolve into absolute power and dictatorship and lead the country to ruin. Putin, Chi, and Netanyahu fall into this category. In 98 when I spent four months in Israel, I was told by many people that if Netanyahu stayed in power, he would lead the country to war and ruin. I loved my time spent there and love the country, including Palestine and still do. That is why I feel so sad at what is happening in the Middle East.