Apartheid, yada, yada: Seinfeld photographed holding machine gun at Israeli 'shoot-a-Palestinian' camp

Apartheid, yada, yada: Seinfeld photographed holding machine gun at Israeli 'shoot-a-Palestinian' camp
American comedian Jerry Seinfeld causes outrage among supporters of Palestinian rights after posing with machine guns at an Israeli military fantasy camp that simulates shooting Palestinians during a family holiday.
2 min read
09 Jan, 2018
Israeli military fantasy camp Caliber 3 posted pictures of Seinfeld's visit [Facebook]
American stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld visited a military fantasy camp during a family holiday to Israel, where he posed with machine guns and took part in simulations which portray Palestinians as "target practice".

The Jewish-American funnyman, known for his 90s sitcom Seinfeld, has attracted an angry backlash online, after the camp, Caliber 3, which is built on an Israeli settlement declared illegal by the international community, on Sunday posted pictures on its Facebook page of Seinfeld and his family's visit.

On Tuesday morning, the post had been removed.

"Finally we are allowed to tell you! The legendary Jerry Seinfeld and his family were at Caliber 3 during their visit to Israel last week, they came to us for shooting training with displays of combat, Krav Maga, assault dogs and lots of Zionism. It was great," the post read.

Caliber 3's Facebook post was removed on Tuesday morning [Facebook] 

Caliber 3 invites tourists to take part in the ultimate Israeli experience by pretending to be soldiers shooting "terrorist" Palestinians in a simulator.

It also teaches Krav Maga, a form of self-defence created by Israeli security forces.

The camp's activities also include a simulation of a suicide bombing, as well as a stabbing. 

The programme is available for adults and children, costing $115 and $85 respectively for a basic package, which also includes a live demonstration with attack dogs and a sniper tournament.

The tourist "attraction" has been accused of 'gamifying' apartheid, as well as normalising Israel's illegal occupation of the West Bank and building of settlements on stolen Palestinian land.

By portraying Palestinians as violent "terrorists", it also erases the context in which oppressed Palestinians are provoked into acts of resistance. 

Supporters of the Palestinian cause were quick to denounce Seinfeld's visit to the camp and called for a boycott of his programmes.


During his trip in which he performed a sold out show in Tel Aviv, Seinfeld also paid a visit to an Israeli air base, which was also condemned on social media.


Fellow American comedian and Late Night host Conan O'Brien also caused a stir last year when he visited Israel, where he filmed a TV special. There he met Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and bizarrely fed his dog

During his visit, the praised Israel's military and hospital staff, and took to mocking Palestinians.