Bill Maher Stands With Trump on Jerusalem: ‘I Hate to Agree With Donald Trump, But...'
Though he is rarely a supporter of the Trump administration’s policies, “Real Time” host Bill Maher recently proved there is a first time for everything, as he found himself agreeing with President Donald Trump.
The Friday edition of his TV show saw Maher defending Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move which has sparked worldwide controversy.
“I hate to agree with Donald Trump, but it doesn’t happen often,” Maher began. “But I do.”
“I don’t why Israel — it has been their capital since 1949, it is where their government is, they’ve won all the wars thrown against them — I don’t understand why they don’t get to have their capital where they want,” Maher argued.
Though Maher admitted there will be repercussions to Trump’s decision, he contended that when a country wins a war, it also effectively gets the land.
But that sentiment didn’t seem to sit well with others on Maher’s panel, such as New York Times Columnist Michelle Goldberg, who argued that international law should stop Israel from taking land that the Palestinians claim rightfully belongs to them.
Maher, though, said that many of the hostilities manifested against Palestinians by Israelis are due to Israel’s battle against extremist groups like Hamas, which until recently controlled much of the Gaza Strip.
“The essential thing that is making the two-state solution impossible is that one party is perpetually hostile, a coiled snake,” Maher said, adding that Israel was bombed relentlessly before they put up checkpoints throughout their land.
He continued, stating that even after Israel gave back territoties such as Gaza, the Palestinian community did not benefit.
“Israel gave back Gaza and what was the result?” Maher said. “Did they use the funds to build schools and hospitals? No. They used them to build tunnels to get weapons and they invited Hamas in to shell Israel across the border.”
In addition to Trump’s December announcement that Jerusalem would be recognized as the rightful Israeli capital, the U.S. Embassy will also be moving from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Both decisions have continued to spark controversy, as thousands of Arabs are continuing to protest the new policy.
Palestinian ambassador to the U.S. Husam Zomlot is one of many who have blasted the president and his administration.
Speaking Thursday at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, Zomlot described Trump’s decision as a stab in the back, according to Newsweek.
“All our statements toward the (Trump) administration until Dec. 6 were positive,” Zomlot noted. “Despite all our concerns, we saw this administration as an opportunity.”
“You didn’t take Jerusalem off the table — you took away the whole table,” said Zomlot, recognizing the numerous riots and backlash that have taken place since the announcement was made.
“No Palestinian will sit at it.”
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