Bill Maher On Gaza Conflict: ‘People Die In Wars’ [Video]

Unlike many of his fellow liberals, including many celebrities and journalists, Bill Maher continues to support Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.

On his HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher Friday night, Maher offered these comments about the ongoing Middle East hostilities that have tragically taken the lives of many civilians:

“It’s a war. It’s a war that Hamas started and somehow when Israel reacts to this they have to do everything that doesn’t kill any civilians. People die in wars. Now, I’ve said this before on this show, if the situation was reversed, Hamas would kill every single person in Israel. The reason why that is not happening is because they can’t. Because they can’t doesn’t make them good, it makes them weak.”

Approximately 1,000 Palestinians and about 70 Israeli soldiers have tragically died so far in the conflict.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department, and its charter calls for genocide against Jews.

Panelist Reza Aslan suggested that Israel should be held to a higher standard in the conflict because it is a democracy that is a recipient of U.S. aid. He also made the outlandish claim that the Hamas terrorists aren’t using innocent civilians as human shields according to an Amnesty International study that he cited. Although the other two panelists added little to the discussion, one insisted that Hamas is fighting a two-front war “against Israel and their own people.”

Maher pointed out that there seems to be little outcry over the killing of Christians elsewhere in the Middle East and Africa.

The host also raised an issue that many across the ideological spectrum, whether left or right, can agree with. That is, the U.S. taxpayer in general shouldn’t be bankrolling the military buildup of wealthy foreign countries.

Maher previously stirred up the Twitterverse with a tweet about Hamas that some interpreted as misogynistic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgvQ6BZLbnE

In a previous Real Time installment, Maher asserted that “I feel terrible for a Palestinian child who dies. But if it’s your father, your brother, your uncle who’s firing those rockets into Israel, whose fault is it really? Do you really expect the Israelis not to retaliate?”

In addition to rocket attacks, Hamas has been constructing a network of secret tunnels from which to launch raids on Israeli civilians.

According to a report the Times of Israel that might be a form of irony, several thousand left-wing peace activists at a Tel Aviv, Israel, rally who were protesting the Gaza war in late July had to disperse when Hama started firing rockets in their direction in violation of a truce.

Separately, in this video, conservative commentator Bill Whittle makes his case for Israel. Watch the presentation and draw your own conclusions:

Do you agree or disagree with Bill Maher’s views on Israel and Gaza?

Should the Israel Defense Forces be held to a higher standard than its foes?

[Top image via Featureflash / Shutterstock.com]