Health Minister Yuli Edelstein criticized “Saturday Night Live” Monday after one of his actors joked that only the vaccine was in Israel, saying the accusation was a “lie against Semitic.”
“Israel reports that they are vaccinating half of their population, and I’m assuming it’s half Jewish,” Michael Che told a weekend update. audience chuckling Saturday.
“Just to tell you that anti-Semitism is not funny, it’s dangerous, and also a lie,” Edelstein tweeted, tagging SNL.
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“By the way, in Israel, vaccination is equal for all residents regardless of religion and ethnicity, and enjoys one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. to Israeli-Arabs, “Edelstein said.
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein will present the new health basket at a press conference in Jerusalem on February 10, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel / Flash90)
On Tuesday, more than 4.4 million Israelis received their first vaccine dose, and three million received a second, out of a population of 9 million.
“Satire is supposed to be funny, not offensive and your ‘joke’ is just a lie against a Semitic, which could have a dangerous effect on a country where it has only been two and a half years old. back 11 murdered Jewish worshipers, simply because they were judging, ”he said, referring to the 2018 murder at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
Israel has offered vaccines to its citizens, citizens and Arabs alike, as well as Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem. But critics have failed the Jewish state for failing to vaccinate the estimated five million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip and on the West Bank.
The League Against Damage also criticized the joke, saying in a statement that the beak “not only missed the mark, but crossed the line – laying the foundations of the joke reality mistakes and play into your antisemitic version in the process. ”
The American Jewish Committee began circulating a petition on Sunday asking the show to apologize for the joke.
“Saturday Night Live’s ‘joke’ is not just a hoax – it is a dangerous, modern take on a classic anti-Semitic trope that has inspired countless massacres over the centuries,” read the petition, noting argument that the joke referenced the old pest-infested libel.The document will be delivered to NBC, which broadcasts SNL.
Israel’s Consul General in New York Israel Nitzan tweeted at SNL, writing, “Spreading antisemitic lies & misinformation is already a problem. Lighting the flames just to get a smile is not only wrong, it is reckless. Israel has given the vaccine to all people fairly, regardless of gender, race or religion. “
Ellie Cohanim, former US deputy ambassador to anti-Semitism in the Trump administration, added: “Under the Oslo Accords the Palestinian Authority is responsible for all health and social welfare needs. Contact SNL & NBC and apologize for the bloodshed today against people. “
At the other end of the spectrum, the anti-IfNotNow group seemed to be defending Che. “The circle of knowledge begins,” wrote the group. “1) The media calls on the Israeli government for structural inequality between fighting & Palestinians. 2) The Israel-Can-Do-No-Wrong people are calling for antisemitic criticism. 3) Ask for an apology for refocusing the conversation on words, not denying Palestinian rights. “
Last night, the SNL falsely accused Israel of not vaccinating but its Jewish citizens.@NBCSNL“Jokes” is a modern take on a classic antisemitic trope that provoked the massacre of investigators.
Submit an AJC petition urging @NBC to withdraw and apologize.https: //t.co/FwzhhdtOlv
– American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) February 21, 2021
Critics of Israeli vaccination policy point to the Fourth Geneva Convention, which says ownership power is needed to give vaccines to residents of the areas under its control.
Israel rejects the claim that he lives on the West Bank, saying the areas he has ruled since 1967 are “under controversy,” rather than occupied. He is also aware that he has withdrawn from Gaza, although he will maintain a blockade on the land, which he says is necessary to protect Israel’s safety. Thus, Jerusalem never assumed the applicability of that international law to the territories.
Israel also maintains no responsibility for the occupation of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The government cites the 1995 Oslo Accords, which states that the Palestinian Authority is responsible for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, while both sides work together to combat pandemics.
In the past few days Israel has shifted several thousand doses to Ramallah for the Palestinian Authority to vaccinate medical workers, and on Friday, the PA announced that Israel had approved 100,000 Palestinians employed there to vaccinate Israel.
Israel temporarily delayed the transfer of vaccines delivered from Russia to Gaza, which Israeli blockade means blocking the flow of arms to the Hamas terrorist group, which controlled the enclave, which started the vaccination program aca Monday.
