Jewish groups urge Michael Che to apologize for his ‘anti-Semitic’ jokes about Israel’s vaccination program on SNL
- Che said Israel was vaccinating the ‘half Jewish’ of their population
- The American Jewish Committee and StandWithUs are among those seeking an apology from Saturday Night Live and Michael Che
- Saturday Night Live’s “joke” isn’t just a hoax – it’s a dangerous, modern take on a classic antisemitic trope that has inspired countless massacres over the centuries, ‘said a petition circulated by the AJC
- Israel recently agreed to vaccinate 100,000 Palestinians working in Israel
At least two Jewish groups are apologizing to Michael Che after a joke he made on Saturday Night Live this weekend.
In the piece ‘Weekend Refreshment’, which Che co-hosts with Colin Jost, Che shed light on the vaccination efforts taking place in Israel.
‘Israel reports that they are vaccinating half of their population,’ Che says as he sets up the joke.
‘I’m going to make sure he’s the Jewish half,’ looked Che.
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Michael Che is in hot water for fun on Saturday Night Live which is considered anti-Semitic
The joke began immediately, with allegations that the joke was against Semitic.
The Jewish Committee of America (AJC) quickly began circulating a petition on Saturday Night Live ’reverting its false claim and making an immediate apology. ‘
‘The claim is sexually false: all Israelis, regardless of religion or ethnicity, are entitled to the COVID vaccine, and more than two-thirds of Israeli Arab citizens over 60 have been vaccinated as -that is, ‘the petition reads.
Saturday Night Live ‘s’ joke’ isn’t just deceptive – it’s a dangerous, modern take on a classic antisemitic trope that has inspired countless mass murders over the centuries.
In the Middle Ages, thousands of suspects were shot at the stake after being blamed for the Black Death on charges of defending only themselves.
In the 20th century, the Nazis accused them of spreading disease and seized that lie to justify crimes in ghettos and the massacre of European Jews.
‘Words have virtues, and they tend to be in jeopardy when a major American TV company joins those who say Israel favors only a fraction of its citizens the laudable efforts, recommended by Dr. Anthony Fauci and others, to vaccinate all residents. ‘
StandWithUs, an anti-Israel advocacy group, also apologizes.
On Sunday night, Saturday Night Live has made no apologies.
‘It doesn’t come as a surprise from SNL given their long history of antisemitism’, tweets former New York State General Dov Hikind.
‘But it is clear that Michael Che or whoever wrote that‘ joke ’is also ignorant that Israeli Arab citizens who received the vaccine according to the same credentials as pointed out! @Nbcsnl is the joke! ‘
The @nbcsnl section last night with #MichaelChe was not funny. He only made antisemitic stereotypes of old age & blood libel. It was also a complete lie. I hope #SNL takes action now, starting with an immediate apology & an educational program for Che & the writers involved, ‘tweets Arsen Ostrovsky.
David Harris tweeted that the joke was ‘utterly annoying’ and ‘an antisemitic lie.’
Israel is seen worldwide as one of the leaders of vaccination against the COVID-19 virus.
The Christian Science Monitor reports that 43 percent of Arab residents of Israel 60 and older have received the vaccine, compared to 75 percent of Jewish residents belonging to the same age group.
Vaccinations are underway in Israel, which has been seen as a leader in the fight against COVID-19
The difference seems to be related either to the confidence of the Arab population in the Israeli government or to the geographical separation.
However, Israel is improving to improve its vaccination rates for different faith groups.
Reuters reports that Israel has agreed to about 100,000 Palestinians to come to Israel for work.
‘From a medical point of view, we believe that vaccinating Palestinian workers is the right thing to do,’ said Nachman Ash, who is leading Israel ‘s COVID-19 response.