The statement was made during an appearance at Duke University and is quoted in the university's student newspaper, The Chronicle:
By saying free Palestine, you're not acknowledging what you really think. So it's actually – if you compare it to the Ku Klux Klan – I think the clan is a little better here because they can say straight out that "we don't like blacks, we don't like Jews". It's honest, said Seinfeld.
Both Variety and NBC have contacted Jerry Seinfeld's staff who have not responded.
Jerry Seinfeld participated as a secret guest during an appearance on Tuesday evening by Omer Shem Tov, who Hamas took as a hostage in connection with the major terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. Omer Shem Tov was released earlier this year.
That Seinfeld would appear had not been announced in advance. He has previously expressed his support for Israel, and when he received an honorary degree at Duke University in May 2024, students sang "Free, free Palestine" and left the ceremony in protest, writes Variety.
