Prominent Jewish American comedian Seinfeld makes solidarity visit to Israel amid ongoing Hamas war

World-famous Jewish-American comedian Jerry Seinfeld made a solidarity visit to Israel on Monday amid the ongoing war In Gaza that was initiated by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 when it invaded southern border communities, brutally killing 1,200 Israelis and abducting approximately 240 hostages.

Seinfeld arrived in Israel with his family and was reportedly spotted in a restaurant in Tel Aviv.

He met with families of Israeli hostages to show his support and could be seen wearing a dog tag he received from one of the families. He called for the immediate release of the Israeli hostages currently held by the Hamas terror group and its accomplices inside the Gaza Strip.

Seinfeld toured some of the Israeli border communities that were devastated by the devastating Hamas invasion of southern Israel.

I had the honor of surveying the Gaza Envelope Villages with Jessica and @JerrySeinfeld to witness the devastation and burned houses of Kibbutz Beeri and the location of the Nova Party. Thank you Jessica and Jerry for your support in these difficult times pic.twitter.com/u2UB0M3mSH

— avi issacharoff (@issacharoff) December 19, 2023

The American celebrity, who became popular for his Seinfeld television sitcom, holds strong feelings for the Jewish state that go back to his teenage years when he volunteered to work at Kibbutz Sa’ar in the Western Galilee, close to the coastal city of Nahariya.

“I have loved the Jewish homeland ever since working on a kibbutz at 16,” Seinfeld wrote on Instagram. “My heart is broken by the atrocities, but we are strong in heart and soul,” he emphasized.

Seinfeld was born in New York in 1954 and was raised in Brooklyn. His father is of Hungarian Jewish descent while his maternal family is of Syrian Jewish origin, hailing from the city of Aleppo, which had a vibrant ancient Jewish community before the reestablishment of the Jewish state in 1948.

Following his sitcom "Seinfeld," the comedian embarked upon a worldwide tour with his stand-up comedy routine.

The last time Seinfeld visited Israel was in 2017, when he spoke openly about his connection to the Jewish people.

“Nothing rattles me. But there is nothing like that particular gathering of Jewish people — when you get them in a group, they are very different from most of the groups of people that I am in,” Seinfeld said.

The celebrity comedian elaborated on how his Jewish identity linked him to the State of Israel.

“Obviously, I have a stronger connection to them. And I have this connection to Israel. So it’s just very intimate. It’s powerful. I love it. I love that they think I’m their son.” Seinfeld added.

Seinfeld is not the only Jewish comedian to strongly identify with the Jewish nation amid soaring global antisemitism.

In late November, British Jewish comedian Sasha Baron Cohen blasted the social media platform TikTok for enabling the mass spread of antisemitism among especially young audiences.

“What is happening at TikTok is it is creating the biggest antisemitic movement since the Nazis,” the British Jewish comedian stated.

Cohen earned global fame for his popular comedy films, including “Borat” and “The Dictator.” Cohen has frequently used comedy as a powerful tool to expose the threat of antisemitic bigotry.