Jerry Seinfeld's wife, Jessica Seinfeld, gave money to a pro-Israeli group that turned up to the Palestinian protest at UCLA on Sunday.
Context
The comedian's wife encouraged her followers on Instagram to donate to the Charity for Israel, a counter protest movement which "celebrated Israel in the faces of those that call for our demise and that is the best type of resistance that we can possibly show," according to its fundraising page.
What We Know
Jessica Seinfeld explained that she had donated to the GoFundMe page "to support more rallies like yesterday's at UCLA. More cities are being planned so please give what you can."
She added: "Donations are anonymous. We will continue to share our light and love as proud American Jews [sic]." Her caption included emojis of the American flag and Star of David.
On the fundraising page, her donation of $5,000 appeared under her name.
Newsweek contacted Seinfeld by email for comment.
The group attended the pro-Palestinian encampment at the Californian university as a counter measure. The Palestinian supporters are an off-shoot of a similar protest movement which began at Columbia University in New York City and spread to colleges around the country.
The pro-Palestinians are calling for an end to Israel's ongoing military assault on Gaza, urgent humanitarian aid to be allowed there and for their respective universities to divest any interest they have in Israel.
The rallies were in response to an almost seven month war in Gaza which started when the militant arm of Palestinian political group, Hamas, launched a surprise attack on Israel which killed 1,200 people. Hamas also kidnapped around 250 people and a few dozen remain in captivity.
Israel launched an immediate retaliatory and unceasing campaign in Gaza which has killed more than 34,000 people, according to latest figures from The Associated Press.
Views
People reacted to Seinfeld's donation on X, formerly Twitter, and their opinions were divided.
"Let's all give a warm thanks to the great Jessica Seinfeld (Jerry's wife) who donated $5,000 for the pro-Israel peace rally at @UCLA on Sunday. Thank you Jessica!" wrote @ShelleyGldschmt.
"Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld showing their full contempt for human rights for Palestinians in various awful ways," commented @sluggahjells.
While @kittykinishski added: "Jessica Seinfeld should have her own show: 'Zionists in Cars Getting Free Houses on Land Stolen from Palestinians,'" referring to her husband's popular TV series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
What's Next
Clashes between protesters and police continue to rage across the country, as a Columbia University spokesperson said that it would suspend students who defied an ultimatum to leave a pro-Palestinian protest encampment there by a 2 p.m. deadline on Monday.
In response, protesters have occupied an academic building at Columbia University, according to videos posted on social media.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
fairness meter
To Rate This Article
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
