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Jason Alexander sees Middle East peace through non-sectarian comedy

by
Sara Ivry
June 25, 2009
Alexander in East Jerusalem yesterday.(AFP/Getty Images)
Alexander in East Jerusalem yesterday.(AFP/Getty Images)

In Israel this week to promote a program that brings together Israeli and Palestinian high school students, Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander compared the rocky road to Israel-Palestinian peace with the rocky road the hit show encountered when it first debuted. “We were canceled, we were gone, we were a distant memory and somehow we came back and eventually everybody caught on and started paying attention,” he said. Yuks, he continued, are “the best way to heal wounds.” But he admitted one hitch: “Nothing makes a Jew laugh more than jokes about Jewishness. It’s purely speculation, but my guess is that’s probably not as true for the Arab world.” Because, of course, that’s the big roadblock to Middle East peace: a Palestinian inability to guffaw at “So what’s the deal with these keffiyehs?”

Sara Ivry is the host of Vox Tablet, Tablet Magazine’s weekly podcast. Follow her on Twitter@saraivry.