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Jerry Seinfeld mocks another pro-Palestinian heckler with stinging comeback in Australia

The sitcom star and stand-up comedian, currently touring Australia, is an outspoken supporter of Israel

Kevin E G Perry
Los Angeles
Monday 24 June 2024 19:36 BST
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Jerry Seinfeld heckled by pro-Palestinian protester

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Jerry Seinfeld delivered a stinging rebuke to a group of pro-Palestinian supporters who disrupted his stand-up show in Melbourne, Australia, joking: “I think you need to go back and tell whoever is running your organization, ‘We just gave more money to a Jew.’”

The 70-year-old sitcom star reportedly added: “That cannot be a good plan for you. You gotta come up with a better plan!”

Seinfeld has repeatedly been heckled over his outspoken support for Israel during his tour of Australia.

Last week, he mocked another heckler who interrupted his show in Sydney.

A video shared on X showed the protester briefly disrupting his routine at the Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday, shouting: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

As the heckler was escorted out by security, Seinfeld called him a moron. “We have a genius, ladies and gentlemen. He solved the Middle East!” Seinfeld quipped.

Jerry Seinfeld in Los Angeles, April 2024
Jerry Seinfeld in Los Angeles, April 2024 (Getty Images)

“It’s the Jewish comedians, that is who we have to get! They’re the ones doing everything.”

As the heckler continued chanting “Palestine will be free”, Seinfeld added, “Go ahead, keep going! They’re going to start punching you in about three seconds so I would try to get all of your genius out so we can all learn from you.

“It’s a comedy show, you moron! Get out of here.

“You’re really influencing everyone here. We’re all on your side now, because you’ve made your point so well, and in the right venue, you’ve come to the right place for a political conversation.

“Tomorrow we will read in the paper, ‘Middle East 100 per cent solved thanks to man at the Qudos Arena stopping the Jew comedian.’

“You have to go 20,000 miles from the problem and screw up a comedian. That is how you solve world issues.”

Israel’s air and ground assault on Gaza has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, a majority of whom were women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. Most of the territory’s homes, schools, hospitals and places of worship have been reduced to rubble, and a majority of the 2.3 million population have been left homeless, and without adequate food supplies amid warnings of potential famine.

The assault started after Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel on 7 October and killed around 1,200 civilians and soldiers and took nearly 250 people hostage.

Seinfeld visited Israel in December to meet the families of the hostages. He also signed an open letter in support of Israel.

In May, students walked out on Seinfeld at Duke University as he was about to deliver the commencement speech and his show in Norfolk, New Jersey, that same month was also disrupted by pro-Palestinian hecklers.

Seinfeld has described the protestors as being “off-target”.

“I love that these young people, they are trying to get engaged with politics. We have to just correct their aim a little bit. They don’t seem to understand that, as comedians, we really don’t control anything,” he said on the podcast Honestly.

“It’s so silly. It’s like, they want to express this sincere, intense rage. But again, a little off target.

“So that’s, to me, comedic.”

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