Jerry Seinfeld is a forthright and passionate supporter of Israel. He’s previously said, “I will always stand with Israel,” has argued that anyone saying “Free Palestine” is actually saying they “don’t like Jews,” that Palestine itself “doesn’t exist,” and that people who support Palestine are worse than the Ku Klux Klan.
This has made him a frequent target for pro-Palestinian activists, who have in recent years repeatedly interrupted his stand-up shows with heckling. For example, during his 2024 shows in Australia, he was dubbed a “genocide supporter,” “racist,” “genocide apologist,” and “Nazi scum,” as those present chanted “From the river to the sea,” or cited Palestinian death figures.
Seinfeld’s response is generally, mockery, with him dismissing the hecklers as “Jew-haters” and saying that he thinks the anger is “a little off target” as it’s aimed at a comedian. But at a recent show his frustrations may have boiled over.
“I’m gonna find out how much your ticket was and I’m sending it to Israel”
At his show at the Chicago Theater on Oct 10, Seinfeld was repeatedly and loudly heckled by multiple members of the crowd. One yelled, “Seinfeld! Listen to me! You’re a racist! There are 74,000 dead Palestinians, 74,000 Palestinians have been killed by the racist state of Israel.”
Seinfeld responded, “I am a racist. I am a racist,” then promised, “I’m gonna find out how much your ticket was and I’m sending it to Israel,” before clarifying that he would actually be “keeping it.” But once that heckler was silenced, another appeared from the crowd, yelling, “Two million Palestinians don’t get to dream because of the genocide. You are a genocide apologist!”
Seinfeld said he’d had enough, though the crowd member responded, “Well, I’ve had enough of genocide!” Seinfeld replied, “I’m racist. It’s a genocide. I’m into it.” He was then told, “Shame on you! You support the death of tens of thousands of children.”
The responses online weren’t supportive. One summed it up by saying it looks terrible to lean into the criticism and say you’re a racist who’s into genocide, even if you’re being sarcastic: “Terrible mistake to lean into it and triple down. He could have used the opportunity to have a serious conversation. He’s funny but not the sharpest tool in the shed.” On a similar line, another added: “Why would you admit that? Being a Racist? And being into a Genocide… Dude WTF is wrong with you people? Thats how you get blacklisted.”
A former fan added that Seinfeld’s comments on Israel have left them so “disgusted” they’re unable to enjoy Seinfeld reruns: “Seinfeld was one of my favorite shows, and now I can’t even watch reruns. So disgusted with Jerry now.”
Published: Oct 13, 2026 07:35 am