Comedian Jerry Seinfeld faced immediate backlash after telling an audience at Duke University that the “Free Palestine” movement was akin to the Ku Klux Klan, according to reporting by The Duke Chronicle.
Seinfeld made the remarks while introducing Omer Shem Tov, an Israeli who was taken hostage by Hamas from a music festival in 2023 and released in February 2025. “Free Palestine is, to me, just — you’re free to say you don’t like Jews. Just say you don’t like Jews,” Seinfeld said, according to The Duke Chronicle. He added, “By saying ‘Free Palestine,’ you’re not admitting what you really think. 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.”
The event, held Tuesday and organized by campus groups including Chabad at Duke, was dedicated to drawing attention to the experiences of Israeli hostages captured during the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. The Duke student newspaper reported the comments and said the event included an appearance by Shem Tov.
Seinfeld’s remarks prompted criticism from students and observers who said the comparison to a white supremacist organization was unacceptable. “If the school wants to be a place of diversity and inclusion and equity, they need to speak out and deplore what he said and support all the students,” Duke public policy student Laila Dames told ABC 11.
A Duke University spokesperson told reporters the institution does not preview or endorse remarks made by outside speakers. A representative for Seinfeld declined to comment to media outlets.
The comments come amid heightened campus tensions over the war in Gaza and demonstrations that have followed public appearances by the comedian. Dozens of students walked out of Seinfeld’s commencement address at Duke in May 2024. He has also been confronted by demonstrators at comedy shows in Oregon and Virginia. Earlier this year, Seinfeld drew controversy after telling an activist who approached him that he did not “care about Palestine.”
The broader conflict has produced a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Palestinian health authorities say more than 60,000 people have been killed in the offensive there, figures that have been widely reported and cited amid international concern.
Organizers of the Duke event said its focus was on hostages and the experiences of those affected by the Oct. 7 attacks. Seinfeld, a longtime public supporter of Israel, was invited to introduce Shem Tov as part of that program. Media reports did not indicate whether the university or the event’s organizers plan any further statement or action in response to Seinfeld’s remarks.
Coverage of the episode underscores continuing campus debate over how universities and public figures address the Israel-Palestine conflict. The university’s note that it neither previews nor endorses outside speakers reflects an institutional position that many campuses have invoked amid sharply divided public responses to speakers and demonstrations.
As of publication, neither Seinfeld’s representatives nor the event organizers had issued further comment beyond the initial statements reported by campus and local outlets.