‘SNL’ co-host Michael Che turns Israel voter turnout into ‘genocide’ punchline on ‘Weekend Update’
Michael Che used a joke about genocide while discussing turnout in Israel’s election on “Saturday Night Live”. The remark drew criticism from two commentators, who said it treated a serious and contested accusation as a punchline and could reinforce hostility towards Jews.
A Campaign Against Antisemitism spokesperson said the joke played on what the group called a baseless belief that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, and linked such allegations to abuse against Jews. NewsBusters editor Curtis Houck also criticised it. Preliminary election results projected Israel’s two Arab-led parties would win a combined 19 seats; Che had faced criticism in 2021 over a separate joke about Israel’s vaccination campaign.
In short
- Michael Che joked about genocide during a segment on Israel’s election.
- Critics said the remark could reinforce harmful claims about Jews.
- Arab-led parties were projected to win 19 Knesset seats.
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The case for
A defender could argue that political comedy should be able to invoke grave accusations when commenting on an election, especially where the accusation is part of public debate about Israel’s conduct in Gaza. The joke may be understood as satire aimed at Israeli politics or voter behaviour, rather than as a statement about Jews as a group, and criticism of it should not make contentious political topics off limits to comedians.
The case against
Critics could argue that turning an accusation of genocide into a punchline risks trivialising mass suffering and treating a highly contested charge as settled fact. Because claims about Israel can spill into hostility towards Jews, they may see the joke as reinforcing harmful associations, even if its target was Israeli politics rather than Jewish people.
Explained simply
Israel is a parliamentary democracy, where voters elect representatives to the 120-seat Knesset. The seats are divided among parties, which usually need to work together to form a government; Arab-led parties represent many Palestinian citizens of Israel, who are part of the electorate.
“Genocide” is a grave accusation with a specific meaning in international law, and whether it applies to events in Gaza is disputed. The accusation has also become part of wider arguments about Israel, Palestinians and antisemitism, including concern over when criticism of Israel may encourage hostility towards Jews.
“Saturday Night Live” is a US television comedy programme, and “Weekend Update” is its satirical news segment. Che’s earlier joke about Israel’s vaccination campaign drew criticism in 2021, making the latest remarks part of an ongoing debate about comedy, political speech and antisemitism.
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