Jewish group overcomes conflict with last ‘Seinfeld

WASHINGTON, May 17 (JTA) — An estimated 80 million people tuned in last week as the “Seinfeld” foursome signed off — from the slammer. Among those not watching were some 1000 Jewish activists who were locked up in their own right listening to speeches at an American Jewish Committee dinner. Why? Jason Alexander, for one, wanted to know. “What the hell are you all doing here? Don’t you know what tonight is?” Alexander, who played George Costanza on the show, said in a video-taped message played before the crowd. “I don’t know what you’re thinking. I don’t know what the American Jewish Committee is thinking,” said Alexander, an occasional spokesman for Jewish causes. On a night in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered the keynote address to the AJCommittee’s annual meeting in Washington, Alexander stole the show. “The American Jewish Committee — Jews are always making committees. Everyone’s got a committee,” he said. “You know the day that Israel became a state, a nation, before Herzl lifted a shovel to make a house, somebody was forming a committee.” Alexander also had words of praise for the AJCommittee’s incoming president, Bruce Ramer, and for the 50th anniversary of Israel. He then imparted some advice: “Keep the speeches moving. If nobody languishes or waxes philosophical, you have a shot at possibly getting there tonight” in time to watch the show. In the end, they weren’t even close to catching the show’s airing. Fortunately, AJCommittee arranged to have the show recorded, and 150 people gathered late at night to watch Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer stand trial for indifference to “everything good and decent.”