Jason Alexander

On Israel-Palestine Peace, Jews on TV & more!

We’re Back! In this very special season premiere of Being Jewish With Jonah Platt, Jason Alexander, who gave us the iconic George Costanza from Seinfeld, joins Jonah to discuss Jewish identity, cultural Judaism vs. religion, his work as a proud Jew and activist supporting Israel, and the impact of October 7th.

The legendary actor, Tony Award-winner, and generational TV comedy icon kicks off the new season in a deep and honest conversation. Jason Alexander cares about the children; he is not interested in belonging to a group and would rather build bridges and not borders, learn why this Mensch is truly a Master of His Domain. Jason Alexander discusses his personal faith and the distinction between cultural Judaism (a "shirt I can't take off") and formal religious doctrine. He shares the emotional weight of being a Jew since October 7th and his long-standing commitment to Jewish philanthropy, including organizations like Magen David Adom, the ADL, and Jewish Federation. He clarifies the story behind his stage name change from Jay Scott Greenspan to Jason Alexander. If that’s not enough, Jason gives us his unbelievable inside stories from working on Seinfeld and tells us about the one episode that even he thought pushed the boundaries taste too much.

• Mentioned in this Episode

  • How Many American Adults Actually Use Social Media? Pew Research Report

  • Advanced Technique with Jason Alexander

  • Entrepreneur & Bridge-Builder Daniel Lubetzky

  • Wilshire Boulevard Temple

  • Jason Alexander Post for Ohad Munder-Zichri

  • Over 4,000 Hollywood Actors & Directors Boycott Israeli Productions in Name of Gaza

  • 24/7 Seinfeld Online Stream

  • Watch Seinfeld on Netflix

  • Bryan Cranston as Tim Whatley on Seinfeld Season 8, Episode 19: “The Yada Yada”

  • Seinfeld, Season 5, Episode 5: “The Bris”

  • Seinfeld, Season 3, Episode 3: “The Pen”

  • Jason as Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof” at La Mirada

  • Jonah Platt and Mark Whitten sing “The Riddle Song” from “Floyd Collins” at La Mirada Theater, 2014

  • Jason Alexander Returns to ‘Broadway Bound’ as Director

  • About Neil Simon

  • The Neil Simon Collection

  • If I Forget, Directed by Jason Alexander

  • PeaceWorks Foundation (formerly OneVoice Movement)

  • Anti-Defamation League

  • Jason to Direct “Sweeney Todd” at La Mirada Theater

  00:00 How Jonah and Jason Met

  02:41 Jewish Identity, Not Religion

  12:42 Advocacy as a Public Jew

  17:18 Emotional Toll of October 7

  20:06 The Antisemitism Shockwave

  23:45 Jason’s Complex Relationship With Israel

  28:40 Seinfeld and The Jewish Voice

  32:45 Playing George Costanza: "Don't Act"

  37:34 Playing Tevye in Fiddler 40:02 Tradition, Fathers, and Children

  47:06 One Voice: Peace Activism

  52:08 Moderates vs. Extremists: Hope

  Follow Jason Alexander on Instagram @   / jalexander1959  

  Follow Jonah Platt on Instagram @   / jonahplatt  

  Host & Production Team

  Host: Jonah Platt; Executive Producer Matthew “MoJo” Jones, Story Producer Sean Leviashvili, Editors Diana DeCilio & Jacob Kindber, and Executive Assistant Jax Santiago of Rainbow Creative; Chief Business Officer Kenyon Laing, Executive Assistant Josie Rothschild; Research Associate Samantha Greenwald;  Associate Producer Rachel Stern; YouTube Consultants - Zac Stein & Jason Al-Samarrie - Production Assistant, Charlie Zuker; Interns Sasha Nelson & Emma Webb; & Graphic Designer, Noah Bell

Monologue from this Episode

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