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| Dear John, |
Live from New York, it’s… antisemitism?
Jew-hatred is never a laughing matter. But last night, a “joke” on NBC’s Saturday Night Live helped spread an antisemitic canard to millions of viewers.
During the program’s “Weekend Update” segment, host Michael Che accused Israel of only vaccinating its Jewish citizens against COVID-19.
The "joke" isn’t just patently false—indeed, Israel is vaccinating all its citizens, Jewish and Arab alike, and two thirds of Arab Israelis over 60 have already received the vaccine—it’s downright dangerous, a modern twist on a classic antisemitic trope that has inspired the mass murder of countless Jews throughout the centuries.
Join AJC in calling on NBC to retract its outrageous claim and apologize immediately at AJC.org/NBCPetition. |
In the Middle Ages, thousands of Jews were burned at the stake after being blamed for the Black Death and accused of protecting only themselves. In the 20th century, the Nazis accused Jews of spreading disease and seized on that falsehood to justify imprisoning Jews in ghettos and carrying out the mass murder of European Jewry.
Words have consequences, and Jews are at risk when a major American TV company joins with those who claim Israel is favoring only a portion of its citizens in its admirable efforts, praised by Dr. Anthony Fauci and others, to vaccinate all of its residents.
TAKE ACTION: Sign AJC's petition calling on NBC to retract its dangerous claim and apologize.
Every day around the world, from Berlin to Boston to Buenos Aires, AJC is on the frontlines of the effort to combat rising antisemitism in all its forms. Learn more about AJC’s efforts to counter antisemitism at AJC.org/Antisemitism.
Sincerely,
Avi Mayer
AJC Managing Director of Global Communications |
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