Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League chief, said he had released the producer of ‘Saturday Night Live’.
“Saturday Night Live’s ‘Weekend Update’ is known for sharp criticism and public removals, but Saturday’s deeply offensive joke about Israel’s COVID-19 vaccination process not only missed the point, but also crossed the line,” Greenblatt said . said in a statement on Monday.
Greenblatt said the show “the premise of the joke is based on factual inaccuracies” and “in the process plays an anti-Semitic herd.”
“I know they can do better. “In this spirit, I reached out to Lorne Michaels over the weekend and urged Saturday Night Live to take action to repair the damage done and ensure that it does not happen again,” Greenblatt said.
The show, along with its star Michael Che – a correspondent for the Weekend Update – has been under fire since Saturday’s delivery.
‘Israel reports that they have vaccinated half of their population. I’m going to guess it’s the Jewish half, ‘Che burst out during the segment.
Many critics call the joke anti-Semitic.
The vast majority of Israel’s population – 74 percent – is Jewish, according to the Jewish Virtual Library.
The vaccination rates of Israeli Arabs are much lower than Jews in the country, partly due to mistrust in the government in the Arab community, according to an article in January in The Christian Science Monitor.