Seinfeld star Jason Alexander has opened up about his visit to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, and his experiences as an “American jew” walking into a Palestinian City. Alexander visited the West Bank in February 2004 as part of the OneVoice peace movement, but has now recounted his experiences in an interview with Daniel Lubetzky on the Build or Break podcast.
Alexander revealed that, contrary to expectations, the danger to him didn’t come from the Palestinians but from Israeli forces. He said that he was told that one of the core tenets of Islam, per Mohammed himself, is that “The greatest dishonor that could happen to a religious Muslim is to allow harm to come to an invited guest.”
He says he was then told that the Palestinians who’d invited him to visit would take a bullet for him if they had to. Then, as per his account, that vow quickly became a plausible reality.
“I remember ten of those guys at the table surrounding me”
As Alexander explained: We were having lunch in Ramallah with a bunch of actors and artists at a sort of outdoor restaurant. And the Israeli army was conducting a raid on a bank that they thought had terrorist ties a couple blocks away. And they must have, to announce themselves, just shot into the air. And I remember ten of those guys at the table surrounding me. And I went, ‘Oh my God, he wasn’t kidding. They’re not going to let me get hurt.’”
He went on to give his thoughts on the current situation, saying that when he was in the West Bank, there was still hope of a two-state solution. But, he said, even then he saw signs that things were going “in the wrong direction.” Now he says he can’t imagine “how this generation of Israelis and Palestinians get to the place where they can let go and forgive enough – not to be best friends – but to be respectful neighbors that allow for dignity and self-determination. I don’t see that kind of grace in the world right now.”
Alexander’s thoughtful and measured comments are in sharp contrast to Jerry Seinfeld, who recently drew intense controversy after responding to a heckle by saying, “I’m racist. It’s a genocide. I’m into it.” Even that came on the back of Seinfeld having denied Palestine exists at all.
Alexander went on to give his method of dealing with protesters, saying he approaches them respectfully and spends five or ten minutes talking about his personal experiences visiting Israel and Palestine with them.
Published: Oct 21, 2026 07:00 am