The comedian Jerry Seinfeld, speaking during a surprise appearance at a Duke University event on Tuesday, described the “Free Palestine” movement as antisemitic and compared it to the Ku Klux Klan, according to a published report. The remarks escalated previous comments he has made about Israel’s war in Gaza.
According to the student newspaper The Duke Chronicle, Mr. Seinfeld said supporters of the movement often do not say what they mean. “Just say you don’t like Jews,” he told the audience.
“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.”
An audio recording of Mr. Seinfeld’s appearance matched those words. A representative for the comedian declined to comment on Thursday, even after the reported comments had touched off a backlash that was still circulating online.
According to the report, Mr. Seinfeld made the remarks at an event with Omer Shem Tov, a former Israeli hostage who was abducted at a music festival during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The assault resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people and unleashed the war in Gaza, in which more than 64,000 people have been killed, according to health officials there.
Mr. Shem Tov, one of about 250 people abducted in the initial attack, was eventually released in late February as part of a temporary cease-fire deal after 505 days in Gaza.
In a statement on Thursday, Duke University said that it did “not preview nor approve the remarks of outside speakers, and their presence on campus should not be understood as an endorsement of their views.”
“Universities are places where diverse perspectives on difficult and sensitive subjects are explored in a safe and respectful environment,” a university spokesperson said in the statement, noting that Mr. Seinfeld’s appearance “was not announced in advance so the focus could remain on Omer Shem Tov’s spiritual journey during captivity.”
Mr. Seinfeld, who reached the height of his fame in the 1990s with the sitcom “Seinfeld,” has been vocal about the conflict, publicly embracing his Jewish heritage and pushing back against critics of Israel. The latest comments left some student activists on campus “even more disheartened” about the university offering a forum for his pronouncements, they said in a joint statement released on social media on Thursday.
The groups responding included Duke Students for Justice in Palestine, Duke Muslim Student Association, Sunrise Duke and Duke Jewish Solidarity Movement. They said they were “deeply disturbed” by the comedian’s remarks.
“Equating a call for Palestinian freedom with violent white supremacy is not only wholly inaccurate but profoundly offensive,” the statement said, adding that to “suggest that ‘Free Palestine’ means hatred reduces a struggle for basic human rights and vilifies students who speak out for justice and dignity.”
Additionally, the groups said, Mr. Seinfeld’s comments “foster a hostile environment for Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and allied students, leaving many feeling unsafe and unsupported on their own campus.”
In a new statement on Thursday, the groups Duke Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Solidarity Movement called his appearance “the platforming of pro-Israel narratives under the guise of neutrality.”
They accused Mr. Seinfeld of advancing “a false and dangerous binary” that does not represent “a wide spectrum of perspectives on Palestine.”
Mr. Seinfeld, who has two children who have attended Duke, had previously signed a letter in support of Israel and posted an earnest message on social media about his devotion to the country.
When he gave a speech at the university’s commencement ceremony last year, where he received an honorary degree, dozens of students walked out and chanted, “Free, free Palestine,” while the comedian looked on and smiled tensely.