Jewish lawmaker who shared stage with Jerry Seinfeld condemns his ‘Free Palestine’-KKK comparison

Jerry Seinfeld performs during the 18th Annual Stand Up For Heroes Benefit Presented By Bob Woodruff Foundation And New York Comedy Festival at David Geffen Hall on November 11, 2024 in New York City. Photo by Valerie Terranova/Getty Images for Bob Woodruff Foundation

(JTA) — The Jewish lawmaker who followed Jerry Seinfeld on stage during an appearance at Duke University on Tuesday is decrying the comedian’s comments, in which he said pro-Palestinian protesters were worse than the Ku Klux Klan.

“I condemn Seinfeld’s horrific comments, which I’ve made clear to his team and to the event sponsors,” Sophia Chitlik, a Democratic North Carolina state senator, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “I’m dismayed that his comments undermined the intention of this event, which sought to deescalate hateful rhetoric and uplift our shared humanity through a compassionate conversation about Omer Shem Tov’s spiritual journey during the sacred month of Elul.”

Chitlik interviewed Shem Tov, a freed Israeli hostage who was kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, during the event organized by Chabad at Duke. The event was also sponsored by Duke’s provost office and Center for Jewish Studies; its center for Jewish life; and pro-Israel advocacy groups with campus branches.

Seinfeld introduced Shem Tov. During his remarks, the comedian stated, “Free Palestine is, to me, just — you’re free to say you don’t like Jews. Just say you don’t like Jews.”

Seinfeld, a Duke father whose youngest son is currently enrolled, continued, “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.” His remarks were reported by the student newspaper.

Seinfeld’s appearance was a surprise; his participation had not been publicized beforehand. (His wife, the cookbook author and pro-Israel advocate Jessica Seinfeld, had commented positively on the Chabad’s Instagram page prior to the event.) Only Duke students, staff and faculty were permitted to attend.

Some students immediately criticized Seinfeld’s comments and distanced themselves from his sentiment.

“Free Palestine is obviously not at all comparable to the Ku Klux Klan. I’m really just honestly nauseated,” one student, Noah Jacobs, told a local news station. Just wanted to bring my voice as a Jewish student to say, really, this is something we care about.”

Mason Herman, a Duke senior and student president of its Chabad, told NBC News that the group was not responsible for an invited speaker’s remarks.

“This event was highlighting the fact that there are more than 40 hostages still in Gaza,” he said. “To one, raise awareness of that fact, and, two, to share their plight while in captivity. And to share Omer’s story.”

Requests for comment to representatives of Chabad at Duke, the school’s Center for Jewish Studies, and Jewish Life at Duke were not immediately returned.  A university spokesperson told the student paper that Seinfeld had “requested his appearance not be announced beforehand, given Omer Shem Tov’s experiences were the focus of the event.”

The spokesperson added, “Duke does not preview the remarks of speakers who are invited to campus, and the invitation of speakers to campus does not imply any endorsement of their remarks.”

Seinfeld has a longstanding relationship with Duke. His daughter Sascha, now a reporter for Bari Weiss’ news outlet The Free Press, is an alum, as is his older son, who was graduating when Seinfeld delivered the school’s commencement address last year, at the height of the pro-Palestinian campus encampment movement. Some students protested Seinfeld’s appearance over his pro-Israel views, and several walked out on his speech.

The comic, typically known for wry, observational humor, has become noticeably more outspoken on Israel and antisemitism since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. He told Weiss in an emotional interview last year that visiting Israel in the aftermath was “the most powerful experience of my life,” adding that when he had made his hit show “Seinfeld” in the 1990s, he thought that antisemitism was “seemingly a relic of history books.”

On Instagram after the Oct. 7 attacks, Seinfeld said he had lived and worked on a kibbutz in Israel as a teenager.

Chitlik, who was elected last year, has longstanding ties to Israel as well as to the local Jewish community in Durham and progressive Jewish movements. She is on the board of Durham’s Conservative synagogue and was recognized as a young leader by the local Jewish federation in 2021. Her career has included stints at the Jewish social action nonprofit Repair the World, organizing for Democratic candidates and consulting with companies and nonprofits, including in Israel.

Recounting his captivity during his talk, Shem Tov said he believed that Hamas had been intentionally withholding aid to others in Gaza and that he would frequently speak to God, asking, “Why me? Why me?” He urged those in attendance to direct their prayers toward one or two hostages each, saying from his own experience, “You can feel it.”