Jerry Seinfeld’s week of difficult appearances continues, this time in Virginia.
As soon as Seinfeld took the stage for a stand-up comedy set at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk on Saturday night, a man in the audience jumped up and yelled, “Free Gaza,” TMZ reported. The audience immediately began booing the heckler and chanting “Jerry! Jerry!” as another bystander wrestled the protester into a headlock.
Security escorted the man out of the building, but the show was interrupted by other protesters eight times throughout its 90-minute run.
The controversy around Seinfeld’s views stems from his vocal support of Israel — which he visited following the Oct. 7 attacks — and his wife’s $5,000 donation to a GoFundMe for pro-Israel counterprotesters at UCLA after a late April protest turned violent.
Seinfeld didn’t seem bothered by the interruptions, telling the crowd not to boo the man because he had a right to protest.
“This is exciting. I like this,” the comic said as the original protester was escorted out of the venue. “I like a little Jew hate to spice up the show.”
The new party line, which I’ve encountered several times in the past few days, is “it’s Hamas’ fault that Israel kills children.”
Few days? That’s been the line for decades.
Do you know how many people have personally told me it’s Israel’s fault that Hamas kills Jews?
Both sides are saying ridiculous shit out of emotion. Let’s not pretend it is just Israel supporters.
If you cannot see the difference between: an ethno-nationalist, settler colonialist state with weapons and support from the most powerful military on the planet keeping the people whose land you’re literally stealing in an open-air prison; and, the people that they’ve been oppressing for 80+ years who have turned to violence after literally everything else has failed for nearly a century, so maybe they don’t get murdered by IDF soldiers, and maybe one day they can just live in fucking peace and not have to worry about a bunch of nationalist Jews from New Jersey storming onto their property in the middle of night with AR-15s and forcing them out of the home their family lived in for generations…
If you think these two groups are the same, and this is some “both sides” shit, then you either need a history lesson, or you already know I’m right and you’re full of shit.
You’re “both sides”-ing a literal fucking genocide. Real bad look.
I’m not in support of Israel on this matter.
Ok so why did you feel the need to talk about how many people have personally told you it’s Israel’s fault Hamas attacked as if it isn’t true (and no Israel ≠ the Israeli people just like Hamas ≠ the Palestinian people)?
And buddy, your username is public. It’s not hard to remember it when you say some of the vile shit you’ve said. Hey even the app I use has a feature to highlight users with notes… So please don’t lie to me about your agenda thanks.
I have you in my notes too. It just says “unhinged.”
When did I pretend that? This isn’t about that.
Both sides of the equation need to be pushed back against.
Not everything needs to be “both sides.”
You scrolled past somebody stating in this very thread that they don’t recognize the right of Israel to exist.
You could have spent a single minute of your day pushing against the ridiculousness of that statement. Instead, you scrolled down and decided to push back on something less ridiculous.
They both deserved push back, but you only chose to push back against the side you aren’t on.
Why is it my personal job to challenge every statement?
You are one of the most active users on the site who spends probably more time than anybody challenging Israel supporters.
But challenging the side you are on when they say clearly abhorrent things?.. Slim pickings.
That doesn’t explain why it’s my job. Unless you’re going to pay me to do otherwise, I think I’ll continue to reply to who I want to reply to.
Frankly, no nation has an inherent right to exist, and that includes Israel. A nation is only legitimate as long as it looks after the interests and liberties of its people. All its people. At the end of the day, I don’t give a flying fuck at a rolling donut if Israel exists, Palestine exists, or some combination of the two, or neither. What I care about is that the people who live there have long, happy, free, and peaceful lives, and right now Israel seems to be the biggest obstacle to that, what with the genocide and all.
There’s nothing remotely ridiculous about saying that an apartheid ethnostate does not have a right to exist.