Jerry Seinfeld university appearance spurs pro-Palestine walkouts

13 May, 2024

Jerry Seinfeld

An appearance by Jerry Seinfeld for a university commencement speech in the US has sparked walkouts.

The comedian and Seinfeld creator was about to speak at Duke University in North Carolina – where he was also receiving an honorary degree – when protestors with Palestinian flags were seen walking out of the stadium.

Seinfeld, who is Jewish, has shown support for Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza. At time of writing, the conflict has led to the deaths of over 34,600 Palestinians. The comedian previously visited Israel following the attacks by Hamas on October 7 last year, which killed over 1,200 people.

Seinfeld also received boos as he was being introduced – though it was unclear whether those were aimed at the comedian or the protestors – and some in the audience were also heard shouting “Jerry” repeatedly. He was able to deliver his speech.

In response to the protests, Duke spokesperson Frank Tramble said (via NBC News): “We’re excited and delighted for the Class of 2024 and their families.

“We understand the depth of feeling in our community, and as we have all year, we respect the right of everyone at Duke to express their views peacefully, without preventing graduates and their families from celebrating their achievement.”

The walkout comes amid a wave of protests across US campuses in support of Gaza, with many protestors facing aggression and arrests from authorities. Many have spread following violent scenes at Columbia University, with protestors pressuring the institution to divest from Israel.

Protests have spread to universities in the UK, with calls for universities to sever ties with companies that supply arms to Israel and withdraw links to universities in Israel.

Palestinian solidarity also surrounded last week’s Eurovision Song Contest, with many artists previously singing petitions to have Israel removed from the competition, while there was also pressure on UK representative Olly Alexander to boycott the event. The singer previously signed a letter calling Israel an “apartheid state” and accused it of “genocide”, though he still took part in Eurovision as boycotting “wouldn’t bring us any closer to our shared goal”.

Israel still took part, though changed the lyrics to their entry ‘October Rain’ by Eden Golan, which appeared to reference victims on the October 7 attack, having initially threatened to withdraw if changes were made.

Irish contestant Bambie Thug has accused Eurovision organisers of “not supporting them” amid claims that the Israeli broadcasters “incited violence” against them. Before they went on stage, Bambie claimed the EBU confirmed Israeli broadcaster KAN had “broken the rules of conduct”, though a statement from EBU Director General Noel Curran seemed to contradict what the artist had been told.

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