By: Published: December 11, 2023
“Saturday Night Live” is facing mounting calls to apologize — and even be officially investigated — over its tone-deaf sketch making light of university presidents refusing to condemn calls for the genocide of Jews.
“This is really appalling,” Dr. Sara Yael Hirschhorn, a “historian of Israel and Jews” and a visiting professor at the University of Haifa in Israel, wrote of Saturday’s cold open.
“NBC do you think antisemitism is acceptable as the punchline of a joke about American society?” the historian asked.
“This needs to be investigated by the [Federal Communications Commission],” she urged, tagging the federal agency.
Many demanded an apology for the sketch, which poked fun at US Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for demanding the university leaders answer to outrage at their failure to condemn calls for the genocide of Jews on campuses.
“After a day of much-deserved backlash, one would think SNL would delete this video and apologize for their antisemitism,” business attorney Krista Nicole posted on X
“This is truly disgusting. What is so funny about Elise Stefanik calling out antisemitism?
“What a slap in the face to Jews everywhere,” Nicole wrote.
Podcaster Lionel, meanwhile, said he was “overjoyed with what appears to be an avalanche of common sense and radical good taste in calling out obvious bulls–t” at the so-called skit.
“SNL has been in the imposter status as a comedy show for decades,” he said.
“It’s time for Lorne Michaels to apologize. And disappear.”
The Post has reached out to “Saturday Night Live” for comment.
Saturday’s show began with a sketch featuring newcomer Chloe Troast as Stefanik, targeting her line of questioning during Tuesday’s House Education Committee hearing, when she asked the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT whether calls for the genocide of Jews violate their schools’ codes of conduct.
“I’m going to start yelling questions at these women like Billy Eichner,” Troast says in the video.
“Antisemitism — yay or nay?” she screams at the three women. “Yes or no! Is calling for the genocide of Jews against the code of conduct for Harvard?”
Troast’s Stefanik later claims, “I am here today because hate speech has no place on college campuses.
“Hate speech belongs in Congress, on Elon Musk’s Twitter, at private dinners with my donors and in public speeches by my work husband, Donald Trump.”
Almost immediately after it aired, the sketch was condemned online as antisemitic.
“Only a hate-filled, anti-Semitic SNL could do a sketch about the anti-Semitic college presidents testifying in front of Congress and make the questioner Congresswoman Stefanik the target of the sketch,” radio host Mark Simone tweeted.
Meghan McCain also wrote that “there is a 400% increase in antisemitic hate crimes since Oct. 7, and SNL thinks it’s hilarious.
“This is vile,” she said. “Vile.”