Comedy Central Removes Video Game That Played on Jewish Stereotypes
Comedy Central has removed a video game with antisemitic stereotypes from its Web site.
“I.S.R.A.E.L. Attack,” which earlier this week was renamed “Drawn Together: The Movie: The Game,” was removed from the Comedy Central site, according to Honest Reporting, which mounted a successful campaign to pressure the television network to remove the game based on an animated series that had run on Comedy Central.
The game, which starts when a character states “You lied to me, Jew Producer,” centers on the Intelligent Smart Robot Animation Eraser Lady (I.S.R.A.E.L.), who is sent to murder children and wreak destruction.
“The network must have realized that it could not erase the protests as easily as its Israel robot erased its cartoon characters,” Honest Reporting said in an e-mail Thursday to its supporters.
“We believe that it would have been correct for Comedy Central to comment publicly and acknowledge its initial mistakes, perhaps even to make a public apology for the offense caused. After all, retractions and corrections are an accepted norm in the media business,” Honest Reporting said.
As part of the campaign to remove the offensive game, a number of bloggers – including some that have no link to Israel or Jewish causes – joined in pressuring Comedy Central, according to Honest Reporting.
As of Thursday, the Facebook group “Comedy Central-I.S.R.A.E.L. Attack game is offensive. Remove it” had nearly 3,000 members.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
