NBC pulls controversial ‘Nurses’ episode from future digital broadcasts amid backlash from Orthodox Jewish history



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11:57 am PST 02/24/2021

by

Seth Abramovich

“The perpetrators of this scene are checking all the boxes of ignorance and pernicious negative stereotypes,” the Simon Wiesenthal Center says of a recent episode involving an Orthodox patient.

An episode of the NBC medical drama Nurses was convicted by the Simon Wiesenthal Center for a conspiracy involving an Orthodox Jew who refuses a bone graft from a potentially “Arab” or “female” donor.

The controversy led NBC to remove the episode from all digital platforms and from future broadcasts.

“The authors of this scene check all the boxes of ignorance and pernicious negative stereotypes down to the patient’s name, Israel – payments [sidelocks] and everything, “says a statement.” In one scene, NBC insulted and demonized religious Jews and Judaism. “

The scene – which aired on February 9 in an episode titled “Achilles Heel” and was first called by the website Jew in the city – features a young Orthodox Jew named Israel lying in a hospital bed after an accident. His father stands at his bedside, where he insists that “the Creator” will heal him. A nurse retorts that “medicine” is the answer to her broken leg.

Soon, a doctor informs them that Israel will need a bone graft – requiring part of a dead body’s leg to be surgically inserted into its own.

“Do you want to put a dead leg in me?” Ask Israel.

“A dead person goyim leg – of anyone. An Arab, a woman, ”her father said with horror.

“Or God forbid an Arab woman …” intervenes the nurse, sarcastically.

Israel refuses treatment saying, “It is God who heals what he creates.” His father looks at him approvingly.

There are no restrictions in Orthodox Judaism regarding the transplants of corpses.

Responding to the scene, the Simon Wiesenthal Center notes: “Orthodox Jews are being targeted for violent hate crimes in New York City. Jews are [the] number one target for hate crimes in the United States. This is not an easy task. It was a cheap and cheap attack disguised as a TV drama. What is NBC going to do about it? “

Elsewhere, B’nai Brith Canada demanded action during the episode. “The disturbing stereotypes present in this episode of Nurses are deeply damaging to Jews, especially Orthodox practitioners, ”said Michael Mostyn, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, in a statement. “We call on producers to act responsibly and take responsibility for this outrage.

All of Toronto Nurses is a Canadian series that was picked up by NBC in late 2020 amid a shortage of original shows due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anti-Jewish controversy follows another issue involving NBC, after Saturday Night LiveMichael Che recently joked: “Israel reports that it vaccinated half of its population. I’m going to guess it’s half Jewish.”

The comment led the Anti-Defamation League to issue a statement saying it was monitoring the “Weekend Update” segment, which had “inappropriately used Jews as a punchline” on several occasions.

NBC responded to the Nurses controversy by removing the episode from digital platforms and canceling all future broadcasts, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. While the network is in conversation with various Jewish groups, it has no plans to release a statement condemning the episode.

The season finale of Nurses aired on February 23. NBC is unlikely to order further episodes as production of its regular line increases again after COVID-19 quits.

February 24, 1:14 p.m. Updated to include actions from NBC.



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