“Saturday Night Live” cast member Michael Che is in trouble because of a joke he made during this week’s “Weekend Update” segment, which many critics are calling anti-Semitic.
“Israel is reporting that it vaccinated half of its population. I imagine it is half Jewish,” said Che on NBC’s longtime program.
The statement drew attention on social media, causing an uproar among viewers and sparked a petition from the American Jewish Committee (AJC) for NBC to “retract its outrageous complaint and apologize immediately”.
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The organization called the joke “categorically false” and a “modern and dangerous variation of a classic anti-Semitic trope that inspired the mass murder of countless Jews over the centuries”.
The petition continued: “Words have consequences and Jews are at risk when a major American TV company joins those who claim that Israel is favoring only a portion of its citizens in their admirable efforts, praised by Dr. Anthony Fauci and others , to vaccinate all its residents. “
Che and NBC representatives did not respond to Fox News’s requests for comment.
Former New York state deputy Dov Hikind joined the conversation on Twitter saying the joke “was not surprising from the SNL, as they have a long history of anti-Semitism”.
He added: “But Michael Che or whoever wrote this ‘joke’ obviously also ignores the fact that Israel has Arab citizens who received the vaccine according to the same qualifications as the Jews!”
“Michael Che’s blatantly anti-Semitic joke tonight?
@nbcsnl, ” wrote a user.
“Michael Che being openly anti-Semitic in snl ???? HOW IS IT OK?
@nbcsnl, ” added another.
“I was totally shocked last night by Michael Che’s anti-Semitic dig. He has also offended the trans community in the recent past. There is a difference between the sharp comedy and what he is doing. It’s time for some sensitivity training.” another user wrote.
“Really @snl? That Michael Che joke about Israel is NOT cool,” other added.
Some defended Che saying that the joke was just that – a joke.
“It’s a segment of satire … It’s a comedy show – the goal is to act and make fun of people who are really anti-Semitic,” said one person tweeted. Another wrote that Che was just saying “the truth”.
Data from a tracking website run by the University of Oxford shows that Israel has administered more COVID-19 vaccines than any other nation.
The Palestinian Authority’s health ministry announced on Friday that Israel had agreed to vaccinate 100,000 Palestinians who frequently enter the country to work, Reuters reported.
As stated in the Oslo Accords, Palestine – and not Israel – is responsible for the health of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
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Che had already been criticized for his jokes on “Weekend Update”. Most recently, he was accused of making offensive comments to the transgender community because of a November 2 joke about the end of Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people in President Biden’s armed forces.
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Michael Che is recovering from a joke he made on Weekend Update.
(Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images)
“President Biden signed an executive order to repeal Trump’s ban on transgenders serving in the army,” Che said during the January 30 episode. “It is good news, except that Biden is calling the policy: ‘don’t ask, don’t bend’, which is not good news.”
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Che also covered jabs against Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Mars rover, the divorce of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, among other topics in his “Weekend Update” segment.