No. 29: Jerry Seinfeld: A comedian who gets serious on supporting Israel
The successful comedian maintained his support for the Jewish state, even visiting southern Israel, despite the hate it exposed him to on US campuses.
Jerry Seinfeld built his mega-successful comedy career talking about nothing. But this past year, his statements and actions regarding Israel demonstrated that he stands for something.
Since the Hamas massacre of October 7, Seinfeld has been one of the only A-List entertainers to visit Israel and vocally express support for the Jewish state in its battle against Hamas.
On October 9, Seinfeld posted “I Stand With Israel” on Instagram. “My heart is breaking from these attacks and atrocities. But we are also a very strong people in our hearts and minds,” he wrote.
Visiting southern Israel and speaking with survivors
During a solidarity visit in December, Seinfeld and his wife, Jessica Sklar, visited Kibbutz Be’eri and met with the families of hostages and those who had returned from Hamas captivity.
Veteran Los Angeles comic Mark Schiff, who has served as Seinfeld’s opening act over the last few decades, said Seinfeld’s public openness about Israel and his Jewishness comes from the inner depths of his being.
“If you want to know how deeply Jerry feels about Israel, listen to his Bari Weiss interview from 43:14 to 44:00. It’s as deep as it gets,” Schiff told The Jerusalem Post, referring to the now-famous segment of the podcast ‘Honestly with Bari Weiss’ from the Free Press in May.
During those seconds, Seinfeld described his visit to the killing fields in the South as “the most powerful experience” of his life. When asked by Weiss if he was thinking about something in particular, Seinfeld was speechless, and tears came to his eyes. Unable to articulate, he stammered, “Sure, yeah... you know, you just… you know.”
Maintaining support for Israel
The fallout from Seinfeld’s unflinching stance for Israel included a walkout by some students at Duke University when he delivered the commencement speech in May, as well as hecklers at his stand-up shows shouting epithets like “genocide supporter” and “Nazi scum.
“It’s so silly,” he told Weiss. “They want to express this sincere, intense rage but again, a little off target. So that’s to me comedic.”
Unlike younger Hollywood A-Listers, Seinfeld is at a stage in his career where it doesn’t matter if he offends a segment of his fan base. He doesn’t have to play the “keep quiet or it will damage your career” game.
Still, his unabashed allegiance to the place he spent a summer volunteering (on a kibbutz) at age 16 lifted the hearts of Israelis left reeling by the events of the last year, and it justifies his appearance on the Post’s list of the year’s 50 most influential Jews.
Kibbutz Be’eri resident Yuval Haran, whose father was murdered by Hamas on October 7, is a huge Seinfeld fan. He told Seinfeld how much the show and his visit to the kibbutz mean to him.
“When I heard that Seinfeld was coming to the kibbutz, it really moved me,” Haran said. “I can’t count the number of times we would sit together and watch Seinfeld.”Sometimes, a lot about nothing means everything.