Pro-Israel advocacy group StandWithUs on Sunday blasted Saturday Night Live co-host Michael Che, after he took advantage of his platform to poke fun at the elections in Israel.
“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," quipped Che during the “Weekend Update" segment on Saturday night’s episode.
“Israelis of every background - Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze and more - voted last week, with the highest turnout since 1999. Arab parties won a record number of votes," said StandWithUs.
“Instead of celebrating a democracy where every citizen can vote, Michael Che used SNL’s Weekend Update to repeat the genocide lie about Israel with another anti-Israel ‘joke’...Right side or left side, one thing is clear: Che is on the wrong side. The only real joke is thinking this is comedy," the group added.
This is not the first time that Che has generated controversy with an inappropriate joke on Israel. In 2021, he came under fire for a joke on “Saturday Night Live" that suggested Israel is vaccinating only its Jewish citizens against COVID-19.
“Israel is reporting that they’ve vaccinated half of their population, and I’m going to guess it’s the Jewish half," said Che at the time.
The joke sparked outrage among American Jewish groups which demanded that the show apologize. Prime Minister Benjamin also blasted the segment at the time, calling the joke “just outrageous".