Video: Bill Maher's incisive argument for Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas leaves 'The View' speechless

"Real Time" host Bill Maher appeared as a guest on Tuesday's episode of "The View" and offered a powerful argument for Israel's right to defend itself against terror group Hamas.

Maher's incisive speech left each of the show's co-hosts speechless — but after several moments of awkward silence, most of them applauded.

'Hamas needs to be destroyed because they are a terrorist organization who say openly that they want to commit genocide on the Jewish people, on the state of Israel. That's what 'from the river to the sea' means.'

The segment began with a disagreement about how the word "woke" should be used, after which Maher — as he often does — skewered the "super far left" for their un-liberal ideology. Maher then deadpanned, "Don't tell me that the left hasn't changed. I mean, I'm old enough to remember when it was the conservatives who hated the Jews."

The quiet from the crowd communicated that they either didn't like — or didn't get — his joke, but Maher made a better point by noting how disturbed he's been, "watching people protest for a terrorist organization like Hamas." Maher soon added that "it's astounding to me" that pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses "can't tell the good guys from the bad guys. I mean, just morally ... let me tell you, if you're for Hamas, just live in Gaza for a day. And I'm not talking about while the war is on; I mean before the war. Trust me, you would go running and screaming and begging to live in Tel Aviv. A place that has your values."

Maher added that "women have no rights" in Gaza or "in a lot of majority-Muslim countries around the world. I mean, there's no equal rights as far as speech, dress, opportunities for education, reproductive rights, freedom from sexual violence, freedom from sexual harassment." He also said that while pro-Palestinian protesters "throw around the word 'apartheid,' there's a gender apartheid in a lot of the world where women are second-class citizens, at best."

With that, co-host Sunny Hostin invoked a popular left-wing "what-about-ism," asking Maher if he's at all concerned about "innocent civilians" in Gaza who've been "punished and murdered, largely children and women."

Maher soon shot back that "it's a war," and Israel was "attacked, and they're defending themselves." He then asked Hostin if she believes Hamas "needs to be destroyed." She replied, "Yes."

Maher then hit "The View" co-hosts with the following argument for Israel's right to defend itself:

Hamas needs to be destroyed because they are a terrorist organization who say openly that they want to commit genocide on the Jewish people, on the state of Israel. That's what 'from the river to the sea' means. ... They've attacked Israel five times and started five wars since they were given that land back. They could have chosen to turn [Gaza] into any place they wanted ... and they took a lot of money ... from the international community, and they spent it on bombs and guns and building tunnels. So if they need to be destroyed, how do we do that? It's a war. I don't know how to do that, and you don't know how to do that. ... Here's a way to stop that: Stop attacking Israel.

The co-hosts around the table sat in total silence for what seemed like forever — as did the audience — but after the three seconds with no mouths moving, most of the co-hosts applauded, along with the crowd.

Bill Maher On 'Woke' Policies and College Campus Protests | The Viewyoutu.be

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