Jerry Seinfeld took to task a Palestinian supporter who heckled the comedian during a stand-up gig in Sydney on Sunday night.
During the show at the Qudos Bank Arena, the heckler shouted: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
This prompted other audience members to demand the protester “get out” and, in solidarity with Seinfeld, chanted “Jerry, Jerry.”
Security escorted the heckler out of the arena and the audience began to boo the protester.
Seinfeld, 70, retorted sarcastically: “We have a genius, ladies and gentlemen. He solved the Middle East.”
He continued: “The Jewish comedian, that's who we have to get, they're the ones doing everything.
“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.”
And Seinfeld did not stop there as he jokingly told the heckler that he had come to the right place to make his point.
“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,” he said.
“Tomorrow we will read in the paper, ‘Middle East 100 per cent solved thanks to man at the Qudos arena stopping Jew comedian’.
“They stopped him and everyone in the Middle East was like, ‘Oh my god let's just get along, we can do that’.”
The incident was captured on film by the Australian Jewish Association.
Jerry Seinfeld demolishes anti-Jewish heckler. - Sydney, Australia
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) June 16, 2024
Crowd cheers as security boots the activist.
Taken by AJA CEO Robert Gregory pic.twitter.com/9rUhfHu7tG
Seinfeld went on to address Australia’s own history with racism.
He said: “Because I know there are problems here, with Indigenous Aboriginal people and the whites.
“They have problems here so maybe to solve that, I will screw up a Jim Jefferies in a show in New York. If that works, this will work. You have to go 20,000 miles from the problem and screw up a comedian, that is how you solve world issues.”
Seinfeld has been a strong advocate in supporting Israel and this has not been the first time he has been targeted by pro-Palestinian supporters.
Back in February when Seinfeld was leaving the World Jewry Address in New York, protesters repeatedly screamed at him “Free Palestine” and telling him that he “supported genocide.”
This followed dozens of students at Duke University walking out of their commencement ceremony as Seinfeld was about to speak.
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