SNL reflects on Israel–Hamas war
"...my dad was killed in a terrorist attack, so I know something about what that's like."
(JTA) – Saturday Night Live returned to the air for its 49th season with a sombre reflection on the Israel-Hamas war by former cast member Pete Davidson.
He spoke directly to the camera, reminding audiences that his father, a New York City firefighter, was killed in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre.
“This week we saw the horrible images and stories from Israel and Gaza,” he said. “And I know what you’re thinking: Who better to comment on it than Pete Davidson? Well, in a lot of ways, I am a good person to talk about it because when I was seven years old, my dad was killed in a terrorist attack, so I know something about what that’s like. I saw so many terrible pictures this week of children suffering, Israeli children and Palestinian children. And it took me back to a really horrible, horrible place. No one in this world deserves to suffer like that, especially not kids.”
Davidson, whose father was Jewish and whose mother is Catholic, then shared a story about how, after his father was killed, his mother tried to cheer him up with what she thought was a Disney film. Instead, it was the ribald stand-up comedy special Delirious by Eddie Murphy.
“Sometimes comedy is really the only way forward through tragedy,” Davidson said.
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