NBC has been facing condemnation for days following two separate instances of antisemitism on its network. The two incidents occurred in the same week but on different shows that the network aired.
First, it was this week’s “Saturday Night Live,” where “Weekend Update” host Michael Che asserted Israel had only vaccinated its “Jewish half” of the population. American Jewish Committee’s Avi Mayer said it “promoted antisemitic myths” and called on NBC to apologize. He wasn’t the only one.
The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis Israel Director Tamar Sternthal called on “NBC and SNL to apologize for the blatant antisemitic smear, and to make clear that Israel is providing equal access to the coronavirus vaccine for its entire population, Jews and non-Jews alike,” in a letter send on Monday.
“We also continue to call on MSNBC to forthrightly correct the Israel is ‘burning down Palestinian villages’ falsehoods,” she added, referring to an incident earlier this month.
However, NBC has yet to apologize or take any action. It is all too common, say activists and religious leaders concerned about the growing tide of anti-Semitism in America.
Second and finally, it was an episode in the series Nurses, where an orthodox Jewish patient wouldn’t accept a bone graft he needed because it was coming from “a dead goyim leg.”
Rabbi Yaakov Menken wrote that the episode was “classic Antisemitic propaganda of the most vile kind.”
“Congratulations NBC, you’re now officially competing with the Nazis themselves to see who can do this better,” he said in a tweet.
NBCUniversal couldn’t be immediately reached for comment. This reporter spoke to an operator at NBCUniversal who couldn’t provide any contact information and said SNL’s team couldn’t be reached outside of their daily operating hours.
Deadline confirmed Wednesday that the network removed the Nurses episode from its digital platforms, citing a source who said they had been contacted by a number of Jewish organizations “and were keen to have conversations with them about the topic.”
Watchdog StopAntisemitism.org called the episode “viciously antisemitic” and said it was “filled with lies.”
See both clips here:
