“Real Time” host Bill Maher on Friday took a moment to knock former President Obama for comments he made this week about the Israel-Hamas war, saying he was “disappointed” at the prominent Democrat.
During a discussion with Pod Save America, the 44th president insisted “all of us are complicit” for the escalated violence that has erupted in the Middle East following the Oct. 7 attack against Israel.
“What Hamas did was horrific, and there is no justification for it. And what is also true is that the occupation, and what’s happening to Palestinians, is unbearable,” Obama said. “If you want to solve the problem, then you have to take in the whole truth. And then you have to admit nobody’s hands are clean, that all of us are complicit to some degree.”
On Friday, Maher accused Obama of pushing “moral equivalency” between the Jewish State and the Palestinian terrorist group.
“I must say I am struggling with people’s moral equivalency still,” Maher said during a panel discussion. “I mean, Barack Obama, who has rarely disappointed me, did so this week… His statement, I mean, it’s not a horrible statement, but he said, ‘If you want to solve the problem, then you have to take in the whole truth and then you have to admit nobody’s hands are clean.’ Literally, that’s true, of course. But just giving two examples where this is I don’t think a helpful statement at this moment. First of all, the attack was only a month ago. A more savage attack than we’ve ever seen in reverse. There’s a big difference between collateral damage and what Hamas did.”
He continued, “Secondly, the Israelis are now on the four-hour pause for people to get out. So people say ‘oh, wow, how big of them.’ Ok, but it is a war that the other side started! It’s so interesting. When they fired [at] Israel. It’s a war. When Israel fires back, it’s a war crime. Little crazy… Also, would Hamas do that? Would they give four-hour pauses? No, no pausing.”
“And then Israel’s heritage minister was asked in an interview about using a nuke on Gaza. And he said ‘that’s one of the possibilities.’ He was fired, not allowed in the Cabinet meeting anymore, disavowed by the Prime Minister. Would that happen in reverse? So enough with the moral equivalencies, please,” he added.
The HBO star reminded the panel to not forget the “Islamic fanaticism” part of Hamas “because you’re not supposed to talk about that anymore because if you do, even how realistic it is, it becomes Islamophobic.”
“But it’s true!” Maher exclaimed. “The people in Hamas who kill their own people think they’re doing them a favor because they’re becoming martyrs. That’s a different kind of situation to have to deal with that Israel has that most people don’t.”
He also railed against the open letter signed by over 750 journalists urging newsrooms to embrace terms like “apartheid” and “genocide” to describe Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
“They couldn’t be more pro-Hamas,” Maher said. “They say they want the newsroom to adopt words such as ‘apartheid.’ I hear it all the time anyway, It’s wrong. And I hear ‘genocide.’ Again, wrong. Israel is not trying to commit genocide. The other side- blatantly saying we would love to commit genocide on you.”