Welcome to Israel, a land that’s so much more than war and occupation.

It’s also a land of greedy Jews.

So teaches a new YouTube video by Kan Broadcasting, producers of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv. “Eurovision: The Musical” is a 4.5 minute musical production, starring Eurovision host Lucy Ayoub and journalist Elia Grinfeld.

The video was designed to introduce foreign visitors to Israel’s tourist sites, fun facts, and complexities. But it also pokes fun at the things people lave to hate about Israel, and some viewers have expressed serious concerns about its messages.

For example: “Most of us are Jews but only some of us are greedy,”

And the next line? “And you might notice some of us are very, very needy” – as a passerby steals one of the tourists’ phones.

Or this: “Stop – don’t say a word, I know just what you heard—that it’s a land of war and occupation. But we have so much more than that…”

Funny or offensive? Many on Twitter tore the video apart. “PLEASE TAKE IT DOWN and then fire everyone involved in this,” wrote one angry viewer.

“If I was a visitor to Israel for Eurovision, and saw this, It would convince me I’d made a terrible mistake, and i’d Turn around and go home. It’s that bad,” wrote another.

Yair Netanyahu, son of the Prime Minister, even went so far as to call the video “anti-Semitic”.

Can we laugh at ourselves?

But Kan Broadcasting responded to the critics on Twitter.

Just to be clear: the musical was satire and was meant to deal with stereotypes about Jews and Israel. YES, also by using self-deprecating humor like we love. We know our flaws, and we’re not ashamed to laugh at all of them.

— KAN Eurovision Israel (@kaneurovision) May 10, 2019

And an article in the Forward suggests that we all calm down. Israelis love to poke fun at themselves, and we in America don’t always get the joke.

“Far from anti-Semitic, the video was a perfect encapsulation of Israeli humor, which is mercilessly self-deprecating and ruthlessly hyper-aware….And because we are a Jewish state with a penchant for merciless self-mockery, the targets of our humor are frequently Jewish. So much of Israeli humor might be considered anti-Semitic if produced anywhere else.”

The Forward, “Horrified By That Eurovision Promo? Welcome To Israeli Humor!” May 10, 2019

Still, this video isn’t made for Israelis or Jews, it’s made for foreign tourists – many of whom have long-held beliefs of Israel before they land. Is this the right message to send them?

Offensive or hilarious? What do you think of the video? Let us know in the comments below.