Pro-Palestine demo

Pro-Palestinian students boo comedian

Jerry Seinfeld in Durham(Bild: AP/Jared Lazarus/Duke University via AP)

In the USA, the popular Jewish comedian Jerry Seinfeld has been booed by pro-Palestinian students at a graduation ceremony attended by several thousand students at the renowned Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. 

Seinfeld, who has been internationally known since his sitcom of the same name first aired in the 1990s, has long been considered apolitical. However, since the beginning of the Gaza war triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel, he has publicly taken sides with Israel on several occasions.

Among other things, he travelled to Tel Aviv and met with relatives of the hostages kidnapped by the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas on 7 October.

Jerry Seinfeld (2nd from left)(Bild: AP/Jared Lazarus/Duke University via AP)

At the ceremony at Duke University, the 70-year-old Seinfeld was awarded an honorary doctorate to the cheers of many attendees. In his speech, he did not talk about the war in the Gaza Strip.

Protests at universities in the USA against the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip have been going on for weeks.

The demonstrators are demanding that universities cut their financial and economic ties to Israel. Supporters of Israel have denounced anti-Semitic incidents during the university protests.