The cast of Saturday Night Live Michael Che is in hot water after he made a joke this week about the “Weekend Update” segment that some consider anti-Semitic.
While most of the opening segment was devoted to lame Texas senator Ted Cruz over his now infamous trip to Cancun, one short joke Che made sparked intense reactions on social media. The star commented on a recent headline about Israel’s efforts to vaccinate against the coronavirus.
“Israel reports that they have vaccinated half of their population,” he said. “And I’m going to guess it was the Jewish half.”
The joke refers to the fact that Israel has come under international criticism for largely excluding Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza from its extremely successful vaccination campaign. It kept the dispatch for two days while the government was questioned by a parliamentary committee before it was finally approved. However, Israeli lawmakers have previously suggested that the vaccines be used as a bargaining chip for the release of prisoners held by Hamas military rulers in the area.
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It did not take long for Che to backfire on the joke, which many considered anti-Semitic.
“Michael Che’s blatant anti-Semitic joke tonight? Not cute,
@nbcsnl, ” wrote one user.
“Michael Che is blatantly anti-Semitic on SNL ???? HOW IS IT OK?
@nbcsnl, ” added another.
‘I was completely upset last night about Michael Che’s anti-Semitic excavation. He has also offended the trans community in the recent past. There’s a difference between sharp comedy and what he does. Time for sensitivity, ‘ another user wrote.
“Really @snl? That Israel joke by Michael Che is NOT ok,” another added.
After his name started trending on Twitter, people also rushed to defend the comedian and praise him for trying to highlight the situation in Israel.
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“Thanks Michael Che! Don’t give in to the critics! # SNL,” wrote one defender.
“Do Michael Che intentionally or not, and raise an important question that is not being asked about Israel’s Covid vaccination efforts!” wrote another.
“Leave Michael Che alone. If you’m upset about the joke, wait until you learn about discrimination in Israel,” added another.
“Michael Che is a brilliant cartoon and opposition to apartheid should not be combined with anti-Semitism,” another user added.
Che has previously been criticized for his jokes about ‘Weekend Update’. He was recently accused of making remarks that offended the transgender community over a November 2 joke about President Biden ending Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military.
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Michael Che gets a setback for a joke he made about ‘Weekend Update’.
(Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images)
“President Biden has signed an executive order repealing Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military,” Che said during the January 30 episode. “This is good news, except that Biden mentions the policy: ‘do not ask, do not wrap’, which is not good news.”
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In addition to Cruz and Israel, this week’s “Weekend Update” segment also has a raid on Andrew Cuomo, the Mars rover, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s divorce and more.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.