It’s no laughing matter when it comes to how Jerry Seinfeld feels about what he seemingly believes is the lesser of two evils.
During a Duke University event on Tuesday, the Emmy-winning comedian compared the Free Palestine movement to the Ku Klux Klan. He even went so far as to say that people who use the phrase “Free Palestine” are worse than the white supremacist group.
Seinfeld was at the prestigious North Carolina college to honor the hostages who are still being held in Gaza after being abducted from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Student newspaper, The Duke Chronicle, reported he was tapped to introduce former Israeli hostage, Omer Shem Tov, who was taken from a music festival during the surprise attack launched by the militant group Hamas.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive on Gaza, where Hamas has been the ruling authority for nearly 20 years, has since killed at least 64,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Many others have been left without shelter and basic necessities.
“By saying ‘Free Palestine,’ you’re not admitting what you really think,” said Seinfeld, who publicly embraces his Jewish heritage and has pushed back against critics of Israel.
“Just say you don’t like Jews,” he said in reference to the movement, before comparing its supporters to members of the KKK.
“Compared to the Ku Klux Klan, I’m actually thinking the Klan is actually a little better here,” he said. “Because they can come right out and say, ‘We don’t like Blacks, we don’t like Jews.’ OK, that’s honest.’”
In response to Seinfeld’s remarks, Duke University said in a statement Thursday that it “does not preview nor approve the remarks of outside speakers, and their presence on campus should not be understood as an endorsement of their views.”
Four student-led organizations which co-sponsored the event — Duke Students for Justice in Palestine, the Duke Muslim Student Association, Sunrise Duke and the Duke Jewish Solidarity Movement — also issued a joint statement saying they were “deeply disturbed” by Seinfeld’s remarks.
“Equating a call for Palestinian freedom with violent white supremacy is not wholly inaccurate but profoundly offensive,” they said. “To suggest that ‘Free Palestine’ means hatred reduces a struggle for basic human rights and vilifies students who speak out for justice and dignity.”
Seinfeld previously appeared at Duke as the university’s commencement speaker in 2024. During his speech at the ceremony, dozens of pro-Palestine students walked out to protest his outspoken support for Israel, Politico reported.
