‘Jeopardy!’ Ignites Furor After Wading Into Israeli-Palestinian Conflict During Friday Night Show
by Shiryn Ghermezian
Tourists walk in Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Dec. 2, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Mussa Qawasma.
The US game show “Jeopardy!” attracted controversy over the weekend after it waded into the Israel-Palestinian conflict during its show on Friday night.
During the episode’s first round, in the category “Where’s that church?” one of the clues was: “Built in the 300s A.D., the Church of the Nativity.” Contestant Katie Needle buzzed in with the answer “What is Palestine?” but her answer was rejected by host Alex Trebek.
When fellow contestant Jack McGuire buzzed in with the reply “What is Israel?” $200 was added to his score.
Could be one of my favorite Jeopardy moments of all time pic.twitter.com/2gpVLpDWlR
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) January 11, 2020
The Church of the Nativity, in which Christians believe Jesus was born, is located in Bethlehem, just south of Jerusalem in the West Bank. Israel captured the city during the 1967 Six-Day War and later ceded administrative control to the Palestinian Authority in 1995.
Israel supporters applauded the decision to grant McGuire the points while anti-Israel activists responded furiously on social media, calling the decision “unacceptable,” “outrageous” and claiming the game show owes an apology to Palestinians.
Twitter users noted, however, that Needle’s score after her “Palestine” answer was subtly refunded after a commercial break, with no explanation given to viewers.
