Jerry Seinfeld booed by anti-Israel protesters who walk out of his Duke commencement speech
Dozens of students walked out of Duke University’s commencement ceremony on Sunday to protest guest speaker Jerry Seinfield over his support of Israel during the war in Gaza.
Video of the incident shows a group of students walking out of their seats and carrying a Palestinian flag as soon as the comedian and TV star was called to the stage.
The attention to the protesters was quickly diverted by the cheering crowd, who chanted, “Jerry! Jerry!” as Seinfeld would go on to give his speech and accept an honorary degree from Duke.
While Seinfeld appeared to receive support from the majority of the crowd, once the cheers eased up, several boos and shouts of “Free Palestine,” could be heard erupting through.
Seinfeld has been vocal over his support for the Jewish State following Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 massacre that killed more than 1,200 people and kidnapped another 252.
The comedian also met with families of the hostages and visited a kibbutz destroyed by the terror attack during a trip to Israel in December.
Seinfeld, however, opted to steer clear of the war during his speech at Duke — and instead told students to embrace hard work and what they love as they move forward on the next major step in their lives, according to WRAL News.
“Find something where you love the good parts and don’t mind the bad parts too much — the torture you’re comfortable with,” the comedian joked.
“This is the golden path to victory in life. Work. Exercise. Relationships,” he added.” They all have a solid component of pure torture, and they are all 1,000% worth it.”
The walkout was the only disruption to the commencement ceremony, with no other incident taking place during or after Seinfeld’s speech.
The animus Seinfeld faced at Duke was not the first time he was targeted by protesters over his support for Israel.
In February, Seinfeld was heckled by a group of protesters after leaving an event in the Upper East Side, where demonstrators called him a “genocide supporter.”
The Duke walkout was the latest in manifestations that have erupted in college campuses across the US calling on universities to divest and end their ties with Israel over the war in Gaza.
About 60 students at Rutgers University walked out of their own commencement ceremony on Sunday to protest the war, with many of the protesters swapping graduation caps for keffiyehs, NJ.com reports.
The Rutgers walkout broke out halfway through the ceremony, with students waving around a banner with the colors of the Palestinian flag.
University officials did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
On Saturday, students also held a walkout at Virginia Commonwealth University during a commencement ceremony addressed by Republican Gov. Glenn Younking, and at the University of California, Berkeley, students stalled their own ceremony as they waved Palestinian flags in the middle of the stadium.
With Post wires
