Students at the Ulpanat Horev religious girls' school in Jerusalem have been accused of racism this week after footage showed them wearing blackface and mocking Jews of Middle Eastern and North African descent. 

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The video was recorded and uploaded to YouTube last month, as a skit ahead of the Purim holiday, to show what their school, whose students are mostly Jews of European descent, would look like if it was Mizrahi. It was taken down within hours after it began generating backlash. 

Video: Ulpanat Horev

In the skit, students present several scenarios comparing the behavior of Ashkenazi and Mizrahi "students", with the latter portrayed as more boorish and rude. In some parts of the video women who appear to be the teacher and the administrator of the school can also be seen. 

Aryeh Deri, head of the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox Shas party, blasted the video, saying it was "wretched and outrageous racism, prejudice, contempt and mockery."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu too rejected it, saying the skit did not "represent the national religious public. Discrimination and racism have no place in the State of Israel."

Similarly, Education Minister Yoav Kisch called the video "appalling" and called for an investigation of the video and those involved. 

The school and the students later apologized, saying the skit was meant to be humorous.

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In an episode of the "Shaklabaz" program aired last week, comedian Shimaa Seif tried to annoy people on a microbus by speaking loudly in the Sudanese dialect. She then asked a man for a kiss before revealing her true identity.

Many Sudanese viewers expressed outrage on social media, calling the performance insulting and racist. Others called for boycotting the TV station and the production company, with the hashtag "boycott MBC Masr" in Arabic.

Seif told local media that the scene was not intended to offend. She said the episode was aired years ago without provoking any negative reaction.

Egypt has a large community of Sudanese refugees and migrants who have long complained of discrimination and bigotry. This is not the first time Arab TV shows with racist tropes have sparked controversy.

Last year, an Egyptian series sparked anger by mocking the Sudanese dialect and depicting darker-skinned people as being poor or lazy. The show starred comedian Samir Ghanem and his daughter, Amy Ghanem, who wore dark makeup and wigs with Rastafarian-style braids.

In another sketch aired last year on state-run Kuwait TV, an ensemble of Kuwaiti actors appeared in blackface, wearing traditional Sudanese turbans and jalabeyas, the long garment worn by men in Upper Egypt and Sudan.

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