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On NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” “Weekend Update” co-host Michael Che joked about genocide while discussing voter turnout in Israel’s elections, referencing voters on the right and left of the country’s political spectrum.
“This week, a record number of people voted in Israel’s election, which is great to see regardless of if you’re on the right side, or the left side, or the genocide,” Che said.
A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism acknowledged that the comment was a joke but challenged its premise.
“There’s always a lot of latitude with comedy, and this joke is hardly an exception,” the spokesperson told Digital. The problem is that it’s playing on what has become a widespread but baseless belief that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.”
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“SNL” cast member Michael Che turned Israeli voter turnout into a “genocide” punchline during Saturday’s “Weekend Update” on NBC. (Lloyd Bishop/NBC via Getty Images)
The organization argued that allegations of genocide against Israel portray Jews as perpetrators of the same crime committed against them during the Holocaust and are “motivated in no small part by a desperation to assuage global guilt for a real genocide against the Jews by casting the Jews as perpetrators of this grave crime themselves.”
“It has fueled abuse and violence against Jews worldwide — including terrorism and murder,” the spokesperson added.
NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck also criticized the joke, questioning whether viewers understood the meaning of genocide and criticizing the use of the term in discussions about Israel.
“We’re now at the point where it’s a punchline to refer to Israel as a genocidal state,” Houck told Digital. “SNL’s ill-informed viewers are unlikely to know the actual meaning of the word, and that it’s more applicable to how many Arabs view whether Israel should be allowed to exist.”
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Sherry Colvin of Arlington, Virginia, holds an Israeli flag while praying and dancing before a Philos Project Oct. 7 memorial rally at the Washington Monument on Oct. 7, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
Houck argued that the segment could instead have highlighted Arab participation in Israel’s election to challenge accusations of genocide.
“One could have framed it as a dig against the calls of genocide that a country held free and fair elections in which Arabs could vote and did, to the point their parties won 19 seats in the Knesset, but that would have been too large of a bubble to burst for the far-left in America,” Houck said. “Simply put, use of the word ‘genocide’ shouldn’t be something to joke about.”
In Israel’s recent election, the nation’s two Arab-led parties were projected to secure a combined 19 seats, according to preliminary results.
Che delivered the remark alongside co-host Colin Jost during a segment that also targeted President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Republican messaging ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections. Che previously drew criticism in February 2021 for suggesting that Israel’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign favored Jewish citizens.
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NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck criticized Che’s use of genocide as a punchline, telling Digital the term should not be used for comedy. (Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images)
“Israel is reporting that they’ve vaccinated half of their population. I’m going to guess it’s the Jewish half,” Che said.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said the joke “not only missed the mark, but crossed the line.”
The American Jewish Committee separately sought a retraction and apology from NBC over that segment, saying Che’s suggestion that Israel prioritized Jewish citizens misrepresented vaccine eligibility. The organization said vaccines were available to Israeli citizens regardless of religion or ethnicity.
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Digital reached out to the Israeli government and the White House for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
