Jerry Seinfeld defends his trip to Israel despite intense backlash: 'My feelings are very strong'
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld responded to backlash over his visit to Israel after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in a recent interview with GQ magazine.
Seinfeld arrived in Israel with his family in December and reportedly had an "emotional" meeting with the freed hostages and representatives of families whose loved ones are still held captive in Gaza, according to Israeli news outlet Haaretz.
The meeting at the Hostages and Missing Persons Forum's headquarters in Tel Aviv lasted two hours longer than expected, according to Channel 13 TV News in Israel. Seinfeld, in a video the outlet posted to X, appeared to don a dog tag that symbolized the hostages' struggles with the words "Bring Them Home."
"Well, I’m Jewish," the comedian said of his reason for visiting Israel. "And you grow up learning about antisemitism, but it’s kind of in a book. It never crossed my mind that people would look at me as anything other than, ‘I like this comedian. I don’t like this comedian.’ I think most Jews of my generation never thought about antisemitism. It was from history books. And then it was something different. It was something different."
Seinfeld said the ensuing criticism from anti-Israel voices in the media and among the American public surprised him.
"Every Jewish person I know was surprised by how hostile the reaction was," he said.
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Still, Seinfeld said he didn't regret his trip to Israel.
"No, not at all," he said. "I don’t preach about it. I have my personal feelings about it that I discuss privately. It’s not part of what I can do comedically, but my feelings are very strong."
The legendary comedian has lent his support to the nation multiple times since Hamas terrorists launched surprise attacks on residential areas in Israel on Oct. 7.
Seinfeld posted an "I Stand With Israel" image on his Instagram account two days after Hamas' attacks.
"I lived and worked on a Kibbutz in Israel when I was 16 and I have loved our Jewish homeland ever since," he wrote in a caption. "My heart is breaking from these attacks and atrocities. But we are also a very strong people in our hearts and minds."
However, he has also faced attacks for his support for Israel. In February, the comedian was met by angry, profane protesters as he was leaving an event in New York City with Free Press founder Bari Weiss.
"Genocide supporter, you support genocide!" protesters yelled at Seinfeld as he left an event on the Upper East Side on Saturday night, footage shared by FNTV showed.
Fox News' Taylor Penley contributed to this report.