Michael Che Accused Of Anti-Semitism For Joke About COVID-19 Vaccinations In Israel On ‘SNL’

Saturday Night Live cast member Michael Che has been accused of anti-Semitism after making a joke about Israel’s vaccination efforts on the show.

During last weekend’s Weekend Update segment, Che joked, “Israel is reporting that they’ve vaccinated half of their population. I’m going to guess it’s the Jewish half.”

The joke received a small amount of laughter from the live studio audience, but fans of the show flocked to Twitter to accuse the comedian of using anti-Semitic tropes. They also demanded an apology from Che from suggesting that Israel is prioritizing its Jewish citizens over others.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, 43% of Israel’s Arab population over the age of 60 have been vaccinated while 75% of Jewish residents over that age have also received the vaccine. The number of Arab Israelis are now growing after a recent government push.