Israel demanded an apology from the NBC tv network after a Saturday Night Live comedian joked

“Israel stated that it had vaccinated half of its population, and I think half of them are Jews,” Michael Che, co-host of The Weekend Update, said with a laugh.

About 4.3 million Israelis, representing about 50 percent of the population, received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and 2.9 million received both.

Among them, more than two-thirds are Arab citizens over the age of 60. About three million Israelis, including minors, who have recovered from COVID-19, are currently ineligible for the vaccine.

Vaccinations have been provided to all Israeli citizens: Jews and Arabs, as well as Palestinians residing in East Jerusalem. The state also offered to vaccinate non-citizen residents.

On Friday, the Palestinian Authority said it had struck a deal with the Israeli Ministry of Health to vaccinate 100,000 Palestinians working in Israel, in addition to several thousand vaccines it had already provided to the Palestinian Authority to vaccinate medical workers.

Israel's ambassador to the United States and the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, said the jokes perpetuated the anti-Semitic metaphors and demanded that SNL apologize.

CTM News

22 Feb 2021