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Overview:
The comedian, who performed a sold-out show at downtown Eugene’s Hult Center, has been a vocal supporter of Israel for years.
Local activists protested comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s sold-out show at the Hult Center in downtown Eugene Friday evening, Aug. 15, criticizing Seinfeld’s comments about Gaza and Palestine and his staunch support of Israel in recent years.
Around 30 to 40 protesters set up outside of the entrances to the Hult Center during the hour before Seinfeld’s 7 p.m. performance was scheduled to begin.
The protest was not organized by any particular group or movement, but was started by local activist Steve Dear.
“I think the city, which owns the Hult Center, and the Hult Center should have nothing to do with someone like Jerry Seinfeld. He should have been canceled,” Dear said. “I say this as someone who has been to his show four or five times.”
Benjamin Klipfel, with the city of Eugene’s Library, Recreation and Cultural Services Department, said that the city had no role in programming Seinfeld at the Hult. The show was a rental of the venue, he said, and the Hult doesn’t make rental decisions based on personal or political views.
“Anybody who meets our rental policies is actually allowed to rent the facility because it’s a publicly open space,” Klipfel said. “We absolutely respect the folks that have been impacted by this and have strong feelings about what Seinfeld has said and some of those things, and we also use our opportunity to create public access to programs. This is what the public square is for.”
Why people are protesting Seinfeld
Protesters point to Seinfeld’s comments in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on Israel and ongoing Israeli counterattacks and humanitarian crisis within Palestinian territory.
Seinfeld has been a vocal supporter of Israel for years. He faced backlash in 2018 after visiting Caliber 3, an Israeli counterterrorism training camp that shows tourists how to handle weapons and includes simulated “terror attacks,” which critics have called “IDF fantasy camp.” In the months after Oct. 7, he visited a kibbutz near the Gaza border to meet with relatives of Israelis killed by Hamas.
His stance has drawn criticism from supporters of the Palestinian cause. Dozens of graduating students at Duke University walked out of Seinfeld’s commencement speech in 2024, some waving Palestinian flags. Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted his stand-up performance less than a week later in Norfolk, Virginia.
That criticism has continued in 2025, including two confrontations on video. In February, an influencer asked Seinfeld for a selfie outside of Radio City Music Hall in New York City. He was instead recording a video and said “Free Palestine,” and Seinfeld responded by saying “I don’t care about Palestine” before walking away. After a New York Knicks game in May, a supporter of the Palestinian cause was recording video as Seinfeld was getting into a car, and told him he supported the genocide of babies in Gaza. He responded with “Only you.”
“I think that a man who has used his platform as a comedian to promote an anti-Palestinian point of view and has denied the horrific genocide going on, it’s not funny,” said Peter Goodman, who drove in from Albany to attend the protest. “So, I have to come out.”
Outside of the Hult Center
As people streamed into the Hult Center to see Seinfeld, protesters stood at both entrances to directly address attendees about the comedian’s support of Israel as they walked into the Hult. The Willamette Solidarity Singers greeted attendees with anti-war songs as a protester lay covered in a white sheet to symbolize a corpse.
A flyer — not officially affiliated with the event, but passed out by some protesters — detailed Seinfeld’s support of Israel. At the bottom, it read: “Are these the actions of a person you wish to endorse with your money and attention by attending his shows?”
Passing drivers honked horns and yelled “free Palestine” as they drove past. Many attendees who didn’t know about Seinfeld’s comments on Palestine had warm exchanges with activists, said protester Jason Sydes, but some verbal exchanges did get heated, like when one attendee said he actually did support genocide in response to a protester’s pointed question.
Diana Bilovsky, 77, said she was standing outside of the Hult Center carrying a sign with the Palestinian flag when a younger man shoved her from behind and almost made her fall as he walked past. “They need to talk to us civilly,” she said.
As Seinfeld began his show, the protest gathered for a closing circle and a final round of chants. “We’ve got 2,500 people sitting in there who probably aren’t laughing as much,” Dear said.
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