Bill Maher blasts Democrats’ Gaza ‘genocide’ claims

Comedian Bill Maher used his closing monologue on Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time” to accuse prominent Democrats of embracing what he called a “provable lie” — that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide — and likened the party’s stance to Republicans insisting former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election.

“Gaza equals genocide is a lie, an easily provable lie, and the fact that so many prominent Democrats go along with it is, to me, the party’s worst moment since they undid Reconstruction after the Civil War,” Mr. Maher said, according to a recap of the broadcast.

Mr. Maher’s characterization is a contested one. A U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and Amnesty International reached a similar conclusion in a report released in December 2024. Israel has rejected both findings. Separately, a genocide case brought by South Africa remains before the International Court of Justice, where the parties are still exchanging written pleadings and no ruling on the merits has been issued.

The monologue aired on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Mr. Maher drew a line between that day and the current war in Gaza, arguing that young Americans have absorbed a skewed view of the conflict from social media. He argued that Hamas, which he described as a “terrorist mafia gang,” used Gaza only to stage attacks on Israel after Israel’s 2005 unilateral disengagement, in which Prime Minister Ariel Sharon withdrew all Israeli settlers and troops from the territory.

Without naming him directly, Mr. Maher also took aim at rapper Macklemore, who has drawn weeks of backlash for accusing Israel of genocide and apartheid while opening for Ed Sheeran’s tour. During back-to-back shows at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last weekend, Macklemore led the crowd in chants of “Free Palestine” while Gaza imagery played on the stadium screens, prompting some concertgoers to walk out and demand refunds.

Mr. Maher also referenced his own history of controversial commentary on terrorism, recalling that his post-9/11 remarks calling the hijackers something other than cowards were widely seen as a factor in ABC’s 2002 cancellation of his show “Politically Incorrect,” though the network at the time cited a programming decision rather than the remarks. He argued that today’s real cowardice lies with Democratic Party politicians who, in his view, are too fearful of intraparty backlash to challenge the genocide framing.

The “Real Time” host closed by tying the rhetoric to a broader rise in antisemitism, arguing that branding Israel’s conduct as genocide gives people “full permission” to direct hatred at Jews.