Comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s commencement speech at Duke University on Sunday was briefly disrupted by a group of students protesting in support of Palestine.

As Seinfeld took the stage, dozens of students stood up and began chanting “Free Palestine” while holding a Palestinian flag and other items. The protest was a response to Seinfeld’s vocal support for Israel amid the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza.

However, other students and guests in the audience quickly drowned out the chants by shouting “Jerry! Jerry!” in support of the comedian.

Seinfeld chose not to address the protest directly and instead delivered his speech. He emphasized the importance of effort, saying, “Make an effort. Just pure, stupid, no-real-idea-what-I’m-doing-here effort… Effort always yields a positive value, even if the outcome of the effort is absolute failure of the desired result.”

The protest was likely sparked by Seinfeld’s public support for Israel, which he expressed on social media following the October 7th attack on Israel that left over 1,000 dead and hundreds captured by Hamas. Two days after the attack, Seinfeld posted “I Stand With Israel” on his Instagram account.

Despite the brief interruption, Seinfeld’s speech was well-received by the majority of the audience, who applauded his message of perseverance and effort.

Seinfeld’s shrugging off of the protestors suggests he took a cue from a line in his own 90s sitcom: “You know, the very fact that you oppose this makes me think I’m on to something.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)