If it were television, comedian Jerry Seinfeld would have heckled the hecklers.

That is what he did in an episode of “Seinfeld” when Kramer’s girlfriend Toby (Veanne Cox) heckled, booed and hissed him during a standup performance in the episode.

It upset the veteran stand-up comedian very much, especially when she told him to get out of the comedy business if he could not stand the criticism.

Following the advice of George Costanza that Seinfeld seek the “ultimate comedian’s revenge,” Seinfeld goes to Toby’s office at a publishing firm to heckle her at her place of work just as she had done to him.

So, he posts himself at her office door to get even. He taunts, boos and heckles her to the point that she threatens to call security. He tells her to get out of the office if she can’t take the criticism.

Flummoxed, she runs out to the street where a street sweeper runs over her foot and severs her pinky toe. Kramer later finds the toe and it is successfully reattached to Toby’s foot. But that is a whole other story.

This is a story about getting even.

Duke University, where Seinfeld was honored, was not a television studio, and Seinfeld, the brilliant stand-up comedian, was not filming an episode of Seinfeld, one of the most popular sitcoms of its time. It originally ran from 1989 to 1998, and its reruns are still on television.

This time, as a speaker/performer, he was getting booed for real.

Instead of the television sitcom studio, Seinfeld was on stage at the graduation commencement ceremony at the university last weekend, where he was being booed and heckled by a small group of anti-Israel protestors.

Seinfeld, 70, who is Jewish and a strong supporter of Israel, took it all in stride. And being the pro that he is he ignored the protestors and gave a generally uplifting, positive speech spiced with humor.

Seinfeld has visited Israel often and in his last visit he met with hostages freed by Hamas, as well as with families whose loved ones are still being held.

So, it had to be sweet when the crowd of some 7,000 people performed the “ultimate comedian’s revenge” and booed the 30 or 40 or so protesters and then chanted “Jerry, Jerry, Jerry.”

To a stand-up comedian, those cheers were probably more satisfying than the honorary degree that Duke bestowed upon him. Talk about payback.

In addition, the Durham, North Carolina institution showed that it was no Columbia, Harvard or MIT when it comes to dealing with pro-Hamas, anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrators.

Unlike those and other college institutions across the country, no cops were called in to deal with tent cities or student takeovers of buildings and libraries. That is because they did not happen.

Other colleges and universities should take note.

Alanna Peykar, a Duke graduate and athlete, praised Duke for its safe environment.

In an interview with Fox & Friends, Peykar said, “I’m very thankful to say that Duke University, unlike other universities, has been a much safer environment for Jewish students.

“I’m somebody who’s very openly Jewish, very openly Zionist, and I’m able to proudly to walk around campus. I wear my Jewish star necklace, and if there’s anyone to be targeted, I feel like I’d be one of the first students.

“I can happily say that Duke has done everything in their power to ensure the safety for students. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for universities across America.”

This is no small thing. Of the 16,172 students enrolled at Duke, almost 3,000 are international students, including students from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the United Arab Republic.

Seinfeld, in a jab at wokeism, said privilege was a word “that has taken a beating lately” and he was there to defend it. “I grew up as a Jewish boy in New York. That is a privilege if you want to be a comedian.”

He said, “You went to Duke, which is an unbelievable privilege.” Unfortunately, he added, “We’re embarrassed by the things we should be proud of, and proud of the things we should be embarrassed about.” Amen.

Go Duke.

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Peter Lucas is a veteran political reporter. Email him at: peter.lucas@bostonherald.com