An episode in the network's "Sisters" series presented ultra-Orthodox in a stereotypical way • Surfers were angry and demanded an apology • Earlier this week, a joke on "Saturday Night Live" provoked resentment
Haredim as those who refuse to donate organs.
"Sisters"
Photo:
From Twitter
Less than a week after she was accused of anti-Semitism following a joke with an antisemitic tone on Saturday Night Live, NBC once again finds itself at the center of a storm.
This time it is the eighth episode in the series "Sisters", which presented the ultra-Orthodox as refusing to donate organs from non-Jews in general and Arabs in particular.
"Sisters" is a Canadian drama, acquired for broadcast by NBC in 2020.
The episode aired about a month ago and reappeared on social media, after last night (Tuesday to Wednesday) Sefi Kogan, the head of the young leadership of the American Jewish Committee, tweeted that this is the most antisemitic thing he has encountered on the television screen.
I think this is the most antisemitic thing I have ever seen in a TV show pic.twitter.com/oS1hPFIjcj
- Seffi Kogen (@seffikogen) February 24, 2021
At the center of the episode is the figure of Israel, a young basketball player of ultra-Orthodox descent who was seriously injured in a car accident and needs a leg transplant.
When Israel and his father become aware of the fact that he will have to undergo a bone graft from a dead person in order to return to function and the field, the two express shock that the bone will be taken from the body of a gentile, Arab or woman.
While Israel's father declares that he would prefer his son not to undergo the surgery so that he does not sin again on the basketball court, Israel declares that God heals what he creates and is the best remedy, declaring that he will not be able to live with himself knowing he went against God.
The content of the episode and the way in which ultra-Orthodox Judaism was presented managed to provoke a great deal of anger on the Internet.
Jewish bloggers in the United States and anti-Semitism monitoring sites accused the network of broadcasting an antisemitic, stereotypical episode full of inaccuracies, which testified to the ignorance of the series' writers - and demanded an apology. The network's response has not yet been received.
The new scandal comes after the Saturday night program "Saturday Night Live" joked that Michael Che, who presents the satirical news corner Weekend Update, reported that Israel reportedly vaccinated half of its population against Corona.
"I will guess that this is half the Jew," he said.
. @ nbcsnl I'm a big fan of humor but, perpetuating antisemitism is just not funny.
Your "joke" is ignorant-the fact is that the success of our vaccination drive is exactly because every citizen of Israel - Jewish, Muslim, Christian-is entitled it.
Apologize! Pic.twitter.com/zQqtBmFqJ2
- Ambassador Gilad Erdan Gilad Erdan (@ giladerdan1) February 21, 2021
The joke managed to provoke a storm among Jewish elements who were quick to call it "anti-Semitic," and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) even drafted a petition calling on the program's producers to officially apologize for the pointless move.
The Israeli ambassador to the United States and the United Nations, Gilad Ardan, also joined the apology in an angry tweet.