Television’s most irreverent cartoon has taken aim at the Gaza war, showing one of its Jewish characters flying to Israel to tell Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he is “making life for Jews miserable” by continuing to prosecute the war.
The latest episode of “South Park” depicts FCC Chairman Brendan Carr suffering from a brain-eating parasite that threatens his “freedom of speech” — a potent visual in the week following ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel over comments that Carr criticized.
But it also involves Kyle’s mom — the matriarch of the long-running Comedy Central show’s starring Jewish family— flying to Israel after learning that a prediction market app is asking for bets on the question, “Will Kyle Broflovski’s mother bomb Gaza and hit a Palestinian hospital?”
The episode, the first to tackle Gaza on a show that is famous for its rapid responses to current events, leaves no one unscathed — from non-Jews who press their Jewish friends to denounce Israel to Hollywood actors who weigh in on complex geopolitical issues. But it builds toward a powerful denunciation of Netanyahu, who draws the scorn of one of the show’s most strident characters.
Learning of the prediction market at school, Kyle is incensed, lecturing a student who bet in the affirmative. “Israel and Gaza are a very serious matter,” he says. “Do you even know what Gaza is? There has been a conflict in Israel for thousands of years. Jews and Palestinians are not football teams that you bet on.”
Kyle asks his friend Cartman — a notorious antisemite who became an Orthodox rabbi in a 2021 episode — to intervene. Cartman demurs, saying, “Wow, you just mention the Gaza issue to a Jew and they immediately lose it. Maybe the probability is actually pretty good.”
Kyle’s mother, Sheila, learns about the app after going to dinner with friends who press her for her position on Gaza — a familiar scenario for many American Jews. “I think it’s terrible, a lot of people are dying,” she says. Her friends make a gentle demand: “And … do you feel you should do something about it?”
Sheila flies off the handle. “Are you implying that Jews in the U.S. have a duty to do something about this?” she yells. “You want to slander my faith, don’t you? It’s not the Jews against Palestine; it’s Israel against Palestine! And maybe if you read books instead of listening to what Hollywood actors say, you’ll see the difference.”
At home, Sheila remains livid. “Why is everyone suddenly confronting us about politics? Have people been asking what you think about Gaza?” she asks her family at dinner. “It’s just pure antisemitism. I’m so sick of being grilled about my views on Palestine and my thoughts on Hamas and being judged for things that are centuries old and that non-Jews know nothing about. Well, if they all think we should do something, then you better believe I’ll do something.”
Kyle begs her to stand down but she refuses. “I’m going to find out where all this is coming from, and I’m going to give them a piece of my mind,” she says and takes off for Israel.
Al-Jazeera reports on her arrival as one of Carr’s underlings works to get the bet, which he says “harms Jews,” removed from the prediction app, disappointing the bettors who believe they’re about to win big.
But Kyle knows better, telling Cartman, “When my mom left the house, she said she was going to find the person responsible for this and give them a piece of her mind.”
The episode ends as Kyle’s mom bursts into Netanyahu’s office and directs her famous ire at him.
“Just who do you think you are, killing thousands and flattening neighborhoods, then wrapping yourself in Judaism like it’s some shield from criticism! You’re making life for Jews miserable and life for American Jews impossible!” she says.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me, mister. You know what you’re doing, and you’re doing it on purpose. Now you can just sit in that chair because I’m not going anywhere,” Kyle’s mom continues. “Buster, I’ve been to every PTA meeting, every school board meeting, I can go on and on …” The episode ends.
The show does not suggest what happens next.
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