By: Rabbi Aryeh Spero
In its latest show, NBC’s Saturday Night Live exploited a vicious stereotype about Jews just to get a laugh.
Its “news anchor” stated that Israel has already vaccinated half of its population. The anchor then snidely remarked, “I’m going to guess it’s the Jewish half.”
Had Lorne Michaels, founder and producer of Saturday Night Live checked, he would have found that Israel has already vaccinated 70% of its Arab population over 60 years old, directly resulting in a delay for many of its Jewish citizens within Israel. In addition, had Mr. Michaels checked, he would have found that Israel offered the vaccine to Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Arab Authority, who refused the vaccine, placing his hatred of Israel above concern for his own Muslim constituents.
The producers of Saturday Night Live decided they would sacrifice the truth and demonize the Jewish State for the sake of a cheap laugh or, worse, enable an age old blood libel accusing Jews of manufacturing and spreading plagues while being indifferent to others. Surely Mr. Michaels knows of the heroic efforts Israel has made in creating vaccines, medicines, and state-of-the art medical equipment to alleviate not only the coronavirus but also every type of disease found across the globe. The Saturday Night Live crew would do best to educate themselves on how Israel, matched only by the United States, has sent its transportable medical units immediately to every part of the globe facing a meteorological or medical catastrophe.
The Saturday Night Live crew would never be this callous, nor stereotype a Muslim or LTGBQ group. They know that in today’s culture, such demonization would get them cancelled and removed from media outlets.The demands for perfection made by left-leaning media outlets are directed mostly against the United States and Israel. Why are there never demands that Muslim countries and organizations step up to the plate and help others, as is continually demanded of Israel, the United States, Jews and Christians?”
Rabbi Spero is president of Conference of Jewish Affairs author of Push Back: The Battle to Save Our American Judeo-Christian Heritage, and an advisor to public office holder
