Bill Maher, host of Real Time on HBO, argued that 75 years after their displacement, Palestinians should move on and that Israel cannot negotiate with people whose position is “you all die and disappear.”
Speaking in an eight-minute monologue on his show's season finale, Maher opens with a history of Bethlehem.
“In 1950, the little town of Bethlehem was 86% Christian, but now it is overwhelmingly Muslim. And that is my point tonight: things change."
He proceeds to discuss the rise and fall of various empires in the region, and how even though not everyone always liked the empire that took over, eventually everyone comes to accommodation, “except the Palestinians.”
Maher argues that 'From the river to the sea' is unrealistic
Maher then discusses the history of displaced people throughout the world, as a result of war and ethnic cleansing. He mentions the nearly one million Jews displaced from Arab countries and the Jews fleeing the cossacks in the Russian empire. He says that, although it was difficult, “they coped.”
Towards the end of his monologue, he discusses all the times peace deals were on the table between the Israelis and Palestinians, where Palestinians were offered their state and declined. He argued that “east Jerusalem could have been the capital of a Palestinian state that today might look more like Dubai than Gaza. Arafat was offered 95% of the West Bank and said ‘No.’”
Maher said, “wars end with negotiation, and what the media glosses over is, it's hard to negotiate when the other side's bargaining position is you all die and disappear.”
He ended his monologue by saying that the goal of getting Palestine from the river to the sea is completely unrealistic and the Palestinians should “get serious.”
Maher has consistently defended Israel on his show. In May 2021, he argued against a guest on his show who was claiming that Israel was most likely committing war crimes in the Guardian of the Walls Operation.