Jerry Seinfeld denounced the Free Palestine movement as antisemitic and likened its rhetoric to that of the Ku Klux Klan during a surprise appearance at Duke University.
“Free Palestine is, to me, just … you’re free to say you don’t like Jews. Just say you don’t like Jews,” the 71-year-old comedian said on stage, according to the Duke University Chronicle.
“By saying ‘Free Palestine’, you’re not admitting what you really think,” he continued. “So it’s actually – compared to the Ku Klux Klan, I’m actually thinking the Klan is actually a little better here, because they can come right out and say, ‘We don’t like Blacks, we don’t like Jews.’ OK, that’s honest.”
Seinfeld appeared at the event in North Carolina to introduce Omer Shem Tov, an Israeli man abducted at the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023, when the militant group Hamas and others killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and abducted 252 others. He was held captive for 505 days. Since 7 October, Israel has killed more than 62,000 people in what leading experts have defined as genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Seinfeld, who is Jewish, also detailed his experience of visiting Tel Aviv to meet with families of the hostages as an effort to “call attention” to their plight.
The event was primarily sponsored by Chabad at Duke, alongside the Provost’s Initiative on the Middle East, university centers and Jewish student groups. Seinfeld’s appearance was not announced before the event, which was open to Duke students, faculty and staff.
According to a university spokesperson, Seinfeld “requested his appearance not be announced beforehand, given Omer Shem Tov’s experiences were the focus of the event”.
“Duke does not preview the remarks of speakers who are invited to campus, and the invitation of speakers to campus does not imply any endorsement of their remarks,” they added in an email quoted by the Chronicle.
The Guardian has contacted Seinfeld’s representatives for comment.
Seinfeld has been a vocal supporter of Israel during its war in Gaza, though has never invoked the Klan, the anti-Black and antisemitic hate group formed in the aftermath of the American civil war. He told GQ last April, during promotion for his Netflix movie Unfrosted: “I don’t preach about [the war]. I have my personal feelings about it that I discuss privately. It’s not part of what I can do comedically, but my feelings are very strong.”
A month later, roughly 100 Duke students walked out of Seinfeld’s commencement address at the university in protest against his support of Israel, with some chanting “Free Palestine” and waving Palestinian flags. Seinfeld continued with his speech despite the interruptions. “A lot of you are thinking, ‘I can’t believe they invited this guy.’ Too late,” he said, after vowing to “defend” the concept of privilege.
“I say, use your privilege. I grew up a Jewish boy from New York. That is a privilege if you want to be a comedian,” he added.
That June, during a comedy show in Sydney, Seinfeld was heckled by a pro-Palestine audience member, who accused him of being a “genocide supporter”. Seinfeld replied with sarcasm: “We have a genius, ladies and gentlemen. He’s solved the Middle East. He’s solved it! It’s the Jewish comedians, that’s who we have to get.”
During an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live in February, an influencer tried to get Seinfeld to say “Free Palestine” while taking a selfie. Seinfeld remarked: “I don’t care about Palestine.”