LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Jeopardy!' host Mayim Bialik has faced the brunt of Twitter throughout this year for different reasons. The actress was slammed consistently for taking up hosting the trivia game show, which was previously run only by Ken Jennings.
Now, a turn of events has pushed the actress into Twitter discourse once again, but only for the worse for Bialik. Her views on Israel and her expression of being the "proud" Zionist have resurfaced, following which not only the 'Jeopardy!' viewers but other fans of Bialik and those who sympathize with the Palestinians were gravely disappointed.
Mayim Bialik identifies as a proud liberal Zionist
Bialik has been, for quite some time, very vocal about her support for Israel. She has labeled herself as a "liberal Zionist," which has often led to her being accused of blatant hypocrisy. In one of her posts from 2021, she attached the flag of Israel and captioned it, "Israel deserves to live as an autonomous free and safe nation. The Palestinian people deserve the same," and it has consistently remained her view on the subject.
While she has not outrightly said anything against Palestine, she seems to have very obvious support for the Israelis, which seems problematic to some. The actress has a family in Palestine and has previously made donations to the Israel Defense Forces, which was questioned by many from Hollywood. 'The Big Bang Theory' star explained her identifying as a Zionist, saying, "I do tend to revolve in progressive and Modern Orthodox kinds of circles but the issue of Israel is a complicated one and likely will remain so," in a conversation with The Jerusalem Post.
Furious fans call Mayim Bialik 'racist'
Bialik's views on Palestine-Israel were apparently not known to most people as on their resurfacing, many were left shocked and disappointed. Her views came to light after an organization called StandWithUs which endorses the existence of Israel itself and makes regular posts in support of the same, shared a quote said by Bialik back in 2019 in support of Israel. "I'm a proud and active Jew," the quote stated, along with, "I'm a liberal. I'm a Zionist which means I believe in the right of Israel to exist as a safe and protected identity."
No wonder, many are furious as Israeli forces are currently ensuing brutal violence on the few Palestinians struggling to survive in their own land. Fans were quick to call her out on the same, while there were some who showed support for her views. One Twitter user said, "Standing with Israel to you seems to mean defending ethnic cleansing, land grab, theft of water, throwing families out of their homes, bombing civilians, shooting children in the head...does the list of what you will excuse have an end?" Another user questioned, although in the rhetorical sense, "The question is do you believe the Palestinians also have a right to their own state too. ""I'm basically a racist but wouldn't want to admit it..." There - fixed it for you!" wrote one. A 'Jeopardy!' viewer also shared that they are not going to watch the show because of its association with Bialik. Their tweet said, "the question is “whats the definition of hypocrisy?” will not watch #jeopardy ever again." Others seemed to find her use of the label "liberal zionist" strange, as a person went on to tweet, "Liberal zionist [laughing emoji] Next someone will say they're a conservative lgbt pride supporter." Another user stated, ""Liberal" & "Zionist" are mutually exclusive."
