Jerry Seinfeld lampooned a pro-Palestinian protester interrupting his show in Sydney on Sunday. (Watch the video belo w).
A heckler at Qudos Bank Arena reportedly began chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
“We have a genius, ladies and gentlemen. He solved the Middle East!” Seinfeld cracked in video shared on X, formerly Twitter, by the Australian Jewish Association, whose CEO shot the clip.
“It’s the Jewish comedian, that’s who we have to get! They’re the ones doing everything,” the comic said.
The demonstrator persisted, prompting Seinfeld to extend his anti-interloper shtick.
Jerry Seinfeld demolishes anti-Jewish heckler. – Sydney, Australia
Crowd cheers as security boots the activist.
Taken by AJA CEO Robert Gregory pic.twitter.com/9rUhfHu7tG— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) June 16, 2024
As security presumably approached the man, the former “Seinfeld” star again addressed him. “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,” he said.
The comedian then taunted the attendee about the circumstance he chose to raise awareness.
“Imagine if this guy actually did solve the conflict,” Seinfeld said. “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% solved thanks to man at the Qudos Arena stopping Jew comedian.’ They stopped him, and everyone in the Middle East went, ‘Oh, my God, let’s just get along!’”
Seinfeld noted to the crowd that he was aware of the difficulties that Aboriginal people have faced Down Under.
“They have problems here, so maybe to solve that, I will screw up Jim Jefferies at a show in New York,” he said, referring to the Australian comic. “If this works, that will work.”
“You have to go 20,000 miles from the problem and screw up a comedian. That is how you solve world issues,” he added.
In December, Seinfeld traveled to Israel to meet with hostages freed by Hamas amid the ongoing war against Israel in Gaza. The comedian has faced several demonstrations onstage since, most notably a walkout by dozens of studentsduring the commencement address he gave at Duke University in May.
In April he told GQ he was surprised by the hostility.
“I don’t preach about it,” he said. “I have my personal feelings about it that I discuss privately. It’s not part of what I can do comedically, but my feelings are very strong.”
Last month, Seinfeld discussed the protesters in a podcast, saying that some audience members “don’t seem to understand that as comedians we really don’t control anything.”
