Real Time host Bill Maher argued on Friday that that U.S. funding for Israel’s defense efforts and NATO is creating the “culture of dependency” that Republicans like to complain about domestically.
“You know what? Putin is NATO’s problem. Israel can take off the training wheels,” Maher said. “We got Guatemalan kids and Ebola on our border. We just can’t afford this sh*t anymore.”
CNBC host and New York Times financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin agreed with Maher that Israel didn’t technically need the $3.5 billion it gets from the U.S. — its gross domestic product (GDP) is growing faster than that of the U.S. — but argued that the U.S. continued to provide funding for both Israel and NATO as part of its efforts to buy political “friendships” internationally.
“If I paid your credit card, Bill, every single month, you’d take my phone call, I think,” Sorkin said.
The discussion became heated, however, when Doug Heye, former spokesperson for Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), defended the funding by saying Israel’s “existence is at stake” by political instability around the Middle East.
“They can absolutely stand on their own,” author Reza Aslan shot back. “This idea that Israel’s ‘existence is at stake’ because of Palestinian terrorism is absurd.”
“Islamic extremism that we’re seeing in Iran, that we’re seeing in Syria,” Heye said before Aslan cut him off.
“Israel is the most powerful nation in the Middle East,” Aslan said. “It has 500 nuclear weapons. It’s fine.”
“I don’t think people in Israel think they’re fine,” Heye retorted.
Aslan further argued that the U.S. was not getting anything from its agreement with Israel, pointing out the recent criticism directed toward Secretary of State John Kerry.
“By the way, if we didn’t give Israel the money, they wouldn’t have to listen to Kerry,” Maher chimed in, before joking, “Haven’t they suffered enough?”
Later, Sorkin and Aslan clashed over Israel’s claims that the Palestinian group Hamas was using civilians as human shields.
“That is nonsense,” Aslan told Sorkin.
“These are terrorists who have a two-front war going on against Israel and their own people,” Sorkin argued, to which Aslan countered that Amnesty International did not find any evidence supporting that argument after conducting a month-long review.
“It’s a war that Hamas started,” Maher said. “And somehow when Israel reacts to this, they have to do everything in a way that doesn’t kill any civilians. People die in wars.”
Watch the debate, as posted online on Friday, below.
American exceptionalism allows only for the idea that the US runs Israel.
The idea that Israel operates and controls the US for its own ends cannot be tolerated in the conversation. Even though the managers of this “government” are ALL dual citizen Israeli’s as well as holding US passports.
Maher is there to make certain that this conversation is always misdirected toward that end.
Hamas is an Israeli concoction and is so heavily infiltrated with Mossad agents there is no way to tell if/when Palestinian interests ever hold sway.
Do the “rocket attacks” from Gaza into Israel provide any benefit to the Palestinians?
No, but they sure do give the IDF carte blanche to slaughter Arabs.
For decades, Israel has served as the US attack dog and permanent excuse for a massive military presence and intervention in the Middle East. Without Israel, the US would be less able to control the global supply and manipulate the price of Middle Eastern Oil all of which must be paid for in US dollars. That said, Mahr is partially correct in that the US no longer can afford to finance Israel’s military dominance in the Middle East, the US absolutely cannot afford not to. The USD is under extreme pressure to be displace as the Global Reserve Currency which is the only thing preventing a total collapse of the US economy. When, not if, the USD is rejected in payment for oil and most other international transactions, Israel’s value and relationship to the US will be radically changed.
Michael, agree with you ??_ have you been sure about that ?? Check these “” Bill Hammer bullshit, GUYS USA _ Check these excerpts “” HII August 2, 2014 at 12:12 pm – Reply
Kaci, useless _ your complains serve nothing; the world criminal puppets vs actors _ BIS, the BAD FED USA, the BAD VATICAN etc syndicates criminals Central Banks all around the globe except IRAN etc ?? the criminal banksters not only have robbed your tax payer moneys in usa etc; they have done and continued doing just that easily by printing more fiats usury behind your back; don’t you know that ?? effectively reducing the values of fiats in your wallets even more without your guys consensus ; they have been robbing moneys _ wealth belonged to all peoples around the globe since 19xx to date even way prior to that; check them out to date by the obama guys usa ; what a tragedy by PUPPETS world actors continuing in the White House Washington DC puppets world criminals at the highest levels ever; you guys USA etc all are and again have been caught just plain nuts vs fools _ AGREE ??