South Park launches scathing attack on Netanyahu over Gaza war in latest episode

US adult cartoon South Park took aim at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the deadly war in Gaza in an explicit reference to Israel’s brutal onslaught in the fifth episode of the show’s 27th season, aired on Wednesday.

The episode, titled 'Conflict of Interest', sees the show address Israel’s weaponisation of antisemitism to gain support for the war by way of prediction market apps. The show’s protagonists become enthralled with bets featured on the apps, which include: "Will Kyle’s mom strike Gaza and destroy a Palestinian hospital?"

Kyle, the show’s main Jewish character, becomes outraged and immediately questions why such a bet would exist, stressing that the ongoing war "is a serious matter" and not something to bet on.

He then makes several failed attempts to remove the bet, finding himself dealing with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), headed by Brendan Carr – the figure who pressured Disney into cancelling US comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show earlier this month, following comments made over the killing of right-wing activist and Trump loyalist Charlie Kirk.

News of the bet soon reaches Kyle’s mother Sheila, after she is seen discussing the latest apps children are engrossed in with fellow mothers at South Park Elementary. Sheila’s circle goes on to question her over "what should she do about Gaza," prompting her to say: "It’s not Jews versus Palestine, it’s Israel versus Palestine."

This engages Sheila further, taking her all the way to Israel to confront "the source" of the bet – where she finds her face to face with Netanyahu.

She then confronts the Israeli premier –  while the townspeople wrongfully assume she is in Israel to carry out what the bet says.

"You are you not going to talk to me like that. I am extremely upset and I am not leaving until I have said my piece," she says as she tries to make her way into Netanyahu's office.

"There you are Mr. Netanyahu! Just who do you think you are? Killing thousands of people and flattening neighbourhoods, then wrapping yourself in Judaism like it's some shield from criticism," she yells angrily at the prime minister.

"You are making lives for Jews miserable and life for American Jews impossible. You know what you’re doing and you’re doing it on purpose."

While the plot largely focuses on the impact of the Gaza war on American Jewish life, the character’s explicit jibe at Netanyahu can be interpreted as as creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s acknowledgement of the atrocities carried out by Israel over the past 23 months – which have now been labelled as a genocide by the UN and leading rights groups.

Ove 65,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, while the war and American complicity in the onslaught have drawn large protests in the US and beyond since.

The episode also features an absurd plot regarding US President Donald Trump and the issue of freedom of speech in the US, with Carr often falling into traps set up by Trump who wants to "get rid" of a baby he is expecting with his lover, Satan. 

The episode, which was supposed to be aired much earlier in the month, was rumoured to be delayed over a potential storyline regarding Charlie Kirk’s death amid censorship concerns in the US. Stone and Parker however denied this, stressing the episode’s completion was just "late".

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