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The comments at a Duke University event this week have rankled student activists, who said they fostered a hostile environment on campus.
Sept. 11, 2025Updated 5:34 p.m. ET
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.
