- Michael Che’s ‘Weekend Update’ joke about Israel’s vaccination rollout caused an uproar online.
- Several Jewish advocacy groups called on Che and ‘Saturday Night Live’ to apologise for the joke.
- But others said that criticising Israel is not inherently anti-Semitic.
Michael Che’s joke about Israel’s vaccination rollout on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend sparked tense backlash online as several Jewish organisations called on the NBC show to apologise.
“Israel is reporting that they have vaccinated half of their population, and I’m gonna guess it’s the Jewish half,” Che said late Saturday night during “Weekend Update,” the satirical broadcast news segment on “SNL” he hosts alongside Colin Jost.
On “Weekend Update,” Che and Jost share real news headlines with comedic punchlines. Because it is satire, these lines are frequently factually inaccurate and offensive to some. But the joke from Che no stranger to cracking controversial jokes during his “SNL” segment inspired swift backlash.
Critics said Che’s joke promoted dangerous stereotypes about Israel and that the joke was anti-Semitic, while others celebrated the joke for calling out the Israeli government, as millions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza await vaccination.
Business Insider previously reported on tensions in the American Jewish community, where many are divided politically, particularly concerning Israel.
Read the article by Rachel E. Greenspan in Business Insider Australia.