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Jon Stewart vs. Hannah Einbinder: Jewish comedians weigh in on Dave Chappelle’s ‘SNL’ monologue
(JTA) — Prominent Jewish comedians have begun to weigh in on fellow comic Dave Chappelle’s “Saturday Night Live” monologue in which he joked about Jews running Hollywood.
The verdict from his peers has been mixed after Chappelle delivered a 15-minute set that the head of the Anti-Defamation League said appeared to “normalize” and “popularize” antisemitism.
Hannah Einbinder, a Jewish comedian and star of HBO’s “Hacks,” said in an Instagram story Tuesday that Chappelle’s monologue was “littered with antisemitism.”
“Bigoted people will often couch their bigotry in a degree of truth,” Einbinder wrote. “They’ll tell you two great things, and then they slip the lie in, because they’ve earned your trust with the two great things they’ve told you.”
“No one who laughs at the solid jokes would be willing to admit that there was antisemitism in that monologue, because that admission would then qualify them as complicit,” she added.
In his “SNL” set, Chappelle — who has been widely criticized for the high volume of transphobic jokes in his most recent specials — poked fun at rapper Kanye West, who had tweeted a threat in October to “go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE” after a week in which he shared various antisemitic tropes about money and power.
But Chappelle also leaned into those tropes in his monologue, saying that it is “not a crazy thing to think” that Jews exert outsized influence in Hollywood and on media discourse.
Chappelle also suggested that Kanye had violated Hollywood’s “rules of perception,” saying, “If they’re Black, then it’s a gang. If they’re Italian, it’s a mob. But if they’re Jewish, it’s a coincidence and you should never speak about it.”
Jon Stewart, former host of “The Daily Show” and a friend of Chappelle’s, defended the comedian in an interview Tuesday on Stephen Colbert’s late-night talk show. Chappelle, Stewart suggested, was trying to explain why a Black performer like Kanye West is susceptible to conspiracy theories about Jews.
“Look at it from a Black perspective. It’s a culture that feels that its wealth has been extracted by different groups,” said Stewart. “That’s the feeling in that community, and if you don’t understand where it’s coming from, then you can’t deal with it.”
He also praised Chappelle for saying, “It shouldn’t be this hard to talk about things.”
“I’m afraid that the general tenor of conversation in this country is cover it up, bury it, put it to the outskirts and don’t deal with it,” said Stewart.
Stewart also said that he was generally opposed to censorship and penalties for people who make antisemitic or offensive comments, referring to NBA player Kyrie Irving’s five-game suspension from the Brooklyn Nets after the star tweeted a link to a film that contains antisemitic tropes.
“Penalizing somebody for having a thought — I don’t think is the way to change their minds or gain understanding,” said Stewart.
Jewish comedian Sarah Silverman, who for much of her career has deployed racial stereotypes as a way, she has said, to poke fun at bigots, shared a video to her Twitter in reaction to Stewart’s interview, calling it “beautiful” and laughing along to one of his jokes.
While Einbinder and Stewart were the most vocal Jewish comics to discuss Chappelle’s “SNL” appearance, comedian Jerry Seinfeld withheld judgment. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter Wednesday, Seinfeld said he thought the comedy was “well-executed” but repeatedly declined to comment on the subject matter itself.
“It provokes a conversation which hopefully is productive,” Seinfeld said. “I don’t have a close relationship with him. We’re friends and it’s not a close relationship.”
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The post Jon Stewart vs. Hannah Einbinder: Jewish comedians weigh in on Dave Chappelle’s ‘SNL’ monologue appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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UK Police Charge Two Men in Connection with Filming Antisemitic TikTok Videos
The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company’s US head office in Culver City, California, US, Sep. 15, 2020. Photo: REUTERS
British police have charged two men with religiously aggravated harassment offenses after they were alleged to have traveled to a Jewish area of north London to film antisemitic social media videos.
The two men, Adam Bedoui, 20, and Abdelkader Amir Bousloub, 21, are due to appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court, a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service said on Saturday.
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US Imposes Sanctions on Companies It Accuses of Aiding Iran’s Weapons Sector
A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, Jan. 20, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The US Treasury on Friday announced sanctions against 10 individuals and companies, including several in China and Hong Kong, over accusations they aided Iran’s efforts to secure weapons and the raw materials needed to build its Shahed drones and ballistic missiles.
The Treasury move, first reported by Reuters, comes days before US President Donald Trump plans to travel to China for a meeting with President Xi Jinping and as efforts to end the war with Iran have stalled.
In a statement, Treasury said it remained ready to take economic action against Iran’s military industrial base to prevent Tehran from reconstituting its production capacity.
Treasury said it was also prepared to act against any foreign company supporting illicit Iranian commerce, including airlines, and could impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that aid Iran’s efforts, including those connected to China’s independent “teapot” oil refineries.
Brett Erickson, managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors, said Treasury’s actions were aimed at cracking down on Iran’s ability to threaten ships operating in the Strait of Hormuz and regional allies.
Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes, after the US and Israel attacked a large number of targets in Iran on February 28. Shipping through the crucial waterway has ground to a near halt since the war began, sending energy prices sharply higher.
Iran is a major drone manufacturer and has the industrial capacity to produce around 10,000 a month, according to the British government-fund Center for Information Resilience.
Erickson said the sanctions were still narrowly focused, giving Iran more time to adapt and reroute procurement to other suppliers. Treasury was also not yet going after Chinese banks that were keeping Iran’s economy going, he added.
The companies facing sanctions include:
• China-based Yushita Shanghai International Trade Co Ltd for facilitating acquisition efforts for Iran to purchase weapons from China.
• Dubai-based Elite Energy FZCO for transferring millions of dollars to a Hong Kong company to aid the procurement effort.
• Hong Kong-based HK Hesin Industry Co Ltd and Belarus-based Armory Alliance LLC for working as intermediaries in the procurements.
• Hong Kong-based Mustad Ltd for facilitating weapon procurement by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
• Iran-based Pishgam Electronic Safeh Co for procuring motors used in drones.
• China-based Hitex Insulation Ningbo Co Ltd for supplying materials used in ballistic missiles.
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Gaza Flotilla Activists to Be Released From Israel Detention and Deported
Brazilian Activist Thiago Avila, who was detained aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters, appears at a court in Beersheba, southern Israel May 6, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
Two activists arrested last month when Israeli forces intercepted the Gaza-bound flotilla they were traveling on are expected to be deported in the coming days after being released from security detention on Saturday, their lawyers said.
Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were detained by Israeli authorities on April 29 and brought to Israel.
The activists were part of a second Global Sumud Flotilla launched from Spain on April 12 to try to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering aid to the enclave.
Israel’s foreign ministry said Abu Keshek was suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization and Avila was suspected of illegal activity. Both denied the allegations.
BRAZIL AND SPAIN SAID THE DETENTION WAS UNLAWFUL
The governments of Spain and Brazil said Abu Keshek’s and Avila’s detention was unlawful, but Israel’s Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court remanded them in custody until May 10.
Human rights group Adalah, which has assisted in their legal defense and also said the detention was unlawful, said that Abu Keshek and Avila were informed that they will be released from detention on Saturday and handed over to immigration authorities’ custody until their deportation.
“Adalah is closely monitoring developments to make sure that the release from detention goes ahead, followed by their deportation from Israel in the coming days,” the group said. Israeli officials were not immediately reachable for comment.
Israeli authorities held them under suspicion of offenses that included aiding the enemy and contact with a terrorist group.
Gaza is largely run by Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.