"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,’" he told a crowd at Duke University.

Jerry Seinfeld likened the Free Palestine movement to the Ku Klux Klan — even saying those who use the phrase “Free Palestine” are worse than the white supremacist group — at a student event at Duke University meant to honor hostages who are being held in Gaza.

Seinfeld spoke at the school in Durham, North Carolina, to introduce a former Israeli hostage, Omer Shem Tov, when he made the remarks, according to the university’s student newspaper, The Duke Chronicle. He reportedly started by saying, in reference to the Free Palestine activist movement, “Just say you don’t like Jews.”

“By saying ‘Free Palestine,’ you’re not admitting what you really think. 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.’ Okay, that’s honest,'" the Chronicle reported Seinfeld said.

    • wetsoggybread@lemmy.world
      131·
      2 days ago

      Jerry Seinfeld is Jewish and although he’s not devout this isn’t his first time standing against Palestine, per his Wikipedia page:

      Seinfeld expressed support for Israel during the Gaza war, saying “I will always stand with Israel and the Jewish people.”[145] Seinfeld and his family previously drew criticism, travelling to the occupied West Bank in 2018 to participate in an anti-terrorism simulation camp.[146][147] In 2023, Seinfeld visited the headquarters of Abducted and Missing Families Forum where he met with representatives of the families and with abductees who returned from Hamas captivity, and listened to their stories.[148] On May 12, 2024, Seinfeld gave a commencement address and received an honorary degree at Duke University. During his speech, a number of students booed, waved Palestinian flags and walked out in protest.[149][150][151][152] In June 2024, Seinfeld was heckled by protesters during a comedy show in Sydney, Australia. Seinfeld responded joking, “You’re really influencing everyone here. We’re all on your side now, because you’ve made your point so well, and in the right venue, you’ve come to the right place for a political conversation”.[153][154] A similar incident occurred at a later show in Melbourne.[155] In 2025, responding to a social media influencer and ambush activist who said “Free Palestine”, he shook his head and replied “I don’t care about Palestine.”[156][157]