New Delhi: American stand-up comedian and actor Jerry Seinfeld said Palestine does not exist. He said this as he was leaving Madison Square Garden in New York after the NBA Finals. An influencer had asked him, “Can we get a Free Palestine?”
Hearing the 1980s Seinfeld sitcom fame and an established comedy writer be so anti-Palestine has angered many of his fans. The Jewish comedian is now facing a fresh wave of backlash.
One such comment read, “All he had to say was ‘I believe in a world free of hate’ but nope couldn’t do it.” Another comment read, “I used to like the show. Won’t watch ever again.”
Pro-Israel comic and his sarcasm
Seinfeld has been a vocal supporter of Israel and has shared very controversial opinions on the killings in Gaza. Last year in September, at a student event at Duke University to honour hostages who were being held by Gaza, Seinfeld compared the Free Palestine movement to the Ku Klux Klan in the US. Founded in 1866, the Ku Klux Klan was an American Protestant-led white supremacist and far-Right hate group. It is recognised as the oldest terrorist organisation in the US for using terror and violence to enforce white hegemony.
“By saying ‘Free Palestine,’ you are not admitting what you really think. So it’s actually – compared to the Ku Klux Klan, I am 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,” Seinfeld was reported saying.
In May, his commencement address was interrupted as some hundred students walked out chanting “free Palestine” and waving “Palestinian flags”. But he continued with his speech.
“A lot of you are thinking, ‘I can’t believe they invited this guy.’ Too late,” he said, as she defended 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.
In another incident last year in June, a pro-Palestine audience member accused Seinfeld of being a “genocide supporter”. He responded with his usual 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.”
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The comment comes on the heels of the upcoming premiere of a new comedy series, Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, where Seinfeld reunites with Larry David. The seven-episode limited sketch comedy series, executive-produced by Barack and Michelle Obama through Higher Ground Productions, features Seinfeld appearing alongside David in sketches about American history. The show will premiere on 26 June on HBO/Max.