‘Saturday Night Live’ host draws fire for Israel election joke

“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 stated during the “Weekend Update” segment.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism acknowledged the remark as a joke but criticized its underlying premise. A spokesperson for the organization told Fox News Digital, “There’s always a lot of latitude with comedy, and this joke is hardly an exception. The problem is that it’s playing on what has become a widespread but baseless belief that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.”

The organization argued that such allegations perpetuate a harmful narrative portraying Jews as perpetrators of crimes similar to those committed during the Holocaust. They added that this rhetoric has “fueled abuse and violence against Jews worldwide — including terrorism and murder.”

Curtis Houck, managing editor of NewsBusters, also expressed concern, questioning viewers’ understanding of the term “genocide” and its application to discussions about Israel. He suggested the segment could have instead highlighted Arab participation in the election, noting that Arab-led parties secured 19 seats in the Knesset.

Preliminary results indicate that Israel’s two Arab-led parties collectively won 19 seats in the recent election.

This is not the first time Che has faced criticism for comments related to Israel. In February 2021, he suggested Israel’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign favored Jewish citizens, a remark that drew condemnation from the Anti-Defamation League and prompted a request for a retraction from the American Jewish Committee. The organizations clarified that vaccines were available to all Israeli citizens regardless of religious or ethnic background.

Fox News Digital has contacted the Israeli government and the White House for comment.