New Rule: No Jews, No News Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

[question everything]

You may hate Bill Maher but as a Democrat, a liberal, you should watch it and then pass judgement.

[sarisataka]

1. Well worth watching but it may be uncomfortable for some

if they can recognize themselves in the points he makes.

[Klarkashton]

2. If the argument is that there is a short list of worse countries than

Israel that's pretty sad.

[question everything]

3. No, the question is why does a teen in N. Carolina, a Congressional candidate and a professor

among others carry a life long ambition to kill Jews.

And the list of countries is far from short.

Not surprisingly, some here will pick and choose.

[stopdiggin]

4. I don't find such a shortage of 'point of views'

That makes Bill Maher a 'requirement'.

(Yes, he may occasionally have something worthwhile to say ... But - see above ... And then the annoyance factor .. )

[LudwigPastorius]

5. He wants "consistency".

OK, the U.S. doesn't give North Korea, Russia, China, the Sudan, etc. $3.8 billion of weapons every year, so let's start being consistent by ending arms sales to Bibi.

(Note: Maher is the one who introduced the comparison between Israel and those countries.)

[question everything]

9. You may not care for military inventions but this country relies heavily on Israeli ideas

and products.

In addition, as with every foreign aid there are strings attached and most of the money has to be used to purchase American products.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. What has that got to do with it?

Are you saying that since Israel can invent ways to kill people more efficiently, then it's OK to supply them with other arms too? Or that since they're using American-made weapons to kill, then that makes it OK?

[question everything]

44. I don't say it is OK. The administrations have been saying it. Also recognising that as long as this country

has interest in the region that Israel has been providing eyes and ears.

[muriel_volestrangler]

48. OK, I'd hoped DU threads would develop better than "here's the US government line on this"

especially if it takes querying it to get the admission that it is.

[yardwork]

51. There are plenty of insightful thoughtful posts on this thread.

[muriel_volestrangler]

54. More insight than Maher's attempt, certainly

Discourse would be better if no one listened to him.

[yardwork]

55. See my comment about Maher here.

[angrychair]

61. It's the forced compliance

It's not just that the government sends billions and billions of dollars to Israel, that gives it's citizens free healthcare and college, while telling Americans that it cannot afford those things.

It's also that states, counties and cities and towns are sending millions of dollars to Israel as well.
Arkansas is one of the poorest states in the union but gave $55 million dollars to Israel with a recommendation to invest another $100 million dollars in Israeli bonds.
https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2025/07/11/arkansas-taxpayers-are-loaning-israel-millions-of-dollars-as-its-war-in-gaza-grinds-on

Even a small town in Texas, desperately short and need of finding additional funding, tried to cut its budget and realized it was giving $4 million dollars a year to Israel and when it tried to cut it, Greg Abbott himself threatened to cut all state funding to the town if it cut that funding as part of a boarder resolution asking for a ceasefire:
https://www.ms.now/top-stories/latest/greg-abbott-israel-resolution-san-marcos-texas-rcna204264

Sorry, I find it weird that any state, county or town is sending money to another country, much less it being forced to send that country money. That's bonkers.

There are lots of stories out there like this and it's insane.
Telling our own citizens "we can't afford that" while sending millions of dollars to another country that gives it's own citizens free stuff is a sure way to foster animosity among its population.

[yardwork]

19. I think Trump gave billions in weapons to Russia recently.

The weapons that mysteriously disappeared last month are probably in Russia, aimed at Ukraine.

[LeftInTX]

6. I think until the DNC resolves this issue, we are destined to lose elections.

They are not confronting other political parties like Party for Socialism and Liberation which is trying to destroy the Democratic Party. PSL is in cahoots with the GOP and Putin. Yet, the Democratic Party twiddles their thumbs and invites them in their space. For pete's sake, they're a rival political party which wants to destroy the Democratic Party.

This Maureen Galindo weirdo is part of them. She's a non-voter and now it looks like she will win her primary runoff.

People on FB are cheering on the fact that she wants her opponent charged with treason. These are people that I know that are cheering her on. These are Democrats. These are precinct chairs. These are former candidates.

This is not good. We are fucked up for allowing this ratfucking within the party. Maureen is receiving money from the GOP. (Likely Roger Stone)

San Antonio congressional candidate Maureen Galindo wants rival tried for treason

Democratic congressional candidate Maureen Galindo is again stirring up controversy, this time for saying her runoff opponent, former Bexar County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Johnny Garcia, should be tried for treason.

“[Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is again part of [the Department of Homeland Security], which has headquarters and offices inside Israel,” Galindo said on Texas Public Radio’s The Source with David Martin Davies.

“This is an Israeli occupation of America,” the candidate for San Antonio’s 35th Congressional District continued. “In fact, I was thinking this morning, maybe Johnny Garcia and others who support him, or anybody who is supported by Israel, should be tried for treason.”


A bewildered Davies tried to respond before Galindo cut him off, warning that Israel could be planning genocide in the United States. She didn’t elaborate on how that might come about.

https://www.sacurrent.com/news/san-antonio-congressional-candidate-maureen-galindo-wants-rival-tried-for-treason/

We are going to continue to lose elections. Maureen Galindo is the biggest flake. She talks like she has schizophrenia, yet everyone is supporting what she is saying.
It's disgusting. I'm ready to throw in the towel.

The only thing good that could come of it, is that it will make Democrats look like a total laughing stock and she will probably get about 15% of the vote in November. (Her supporters don't care. They think she is the best thing that has happened to the Democratic Party)

Maybe the party needs to hit rock bottom. They aren't going to go anywhere if they are pandering to the Party for Socialism and Liberation. (They are a political party, which is much more dangerous than the Green Party) They are the communist party, who want to overthrow the government........And they have their own presidential candidates and want to destroy the Democratic Party.

[RandomNumbers]

39. Wow, Galindo types are POISON to the Democratic Party

I don't know much about her opponent but based on his statements quoted here, we need more of this - particularly in any district that isn't bright blue.

https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2026-05-14/democratic-runoff-in-texas-35th-congressional-district-roiled-by-comments-about-jews-and-israel

Galindo:

“I think that if ICE is not eradicated completely, then what we're setting ourselves up for is an AI surveillance prison state. So, if you want to criticize Israel, you get thrown into that warehouse on the East Side,” she said. She also said about ICE: “This is an Israeli occupation of America.”

^^^ (setting aside the blatant antisemitism for now) That's just nutso ... with reasonable people back in charge. We never expected how badly Congress would roll over for the evil that is Trump ... and yes some insane, CT-like shit *IS* happening ... but for all DUers aren't thrilled with centrists, normal sane people like Schumer wouldn't create the dystopia she is predicting.

Meanwhile, her opponent on ICE :

Garcia defended ICE’s mission but said he opposed some of its tactics.

“ICE has a particular job, making sure that they're stopping the flow of illegal drugs coming into our communities, making sure that cartels are not operating inside of our borders, but also to stop the flow of illegal human smuggling and trafficking. That's the job they should be doing. We know that if we abolish ICE and eliminate it, there's going to be a significant gap in public safety,” he said.

Garcia said ICE went too far in the killing of innocent civilians in Minnesota, referencing Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

“They (ICE) need to be combating actual bad actors, removing them from our community,” he said.

Garcia's position is a lot more normal and will more likely resonate with non-radical voters in his district.

===
To be clear on my own positions: I generally support MOST aims of the so called "progressive Left" -- but I want to MAKE PROGRESS towards those goals, however slowly we have to go, versus GOING BACKWARD by giving away winnable elections by running extremists who sound crazy to THE PEOPLE WHO WILL ACTUALLY VOTE.

[LeftInTX]

43. She has said some real nutso things:

"San Antonio is owned by Zionists" (WTF???)

If you are familiar with San Antonio, I have no idea what she is getting at. No idea.
She did complain about John Hagee, who is a Christian Zionist, but he is not politically influential here at all. He does have a large private school etc, but in terms of the city, he's not part of the scene at all...LOL He certainly doesn't have influence on the city. He does not invest in the city. He doesn't even like the city...He lives in another county.

"The Church of Satan killed Jesus".
WTF????? I don't even know what that means.....

[yardwork]

46. Real, pure hatred and fear of Jewish people there.

Bad stuff.

[question everything]

49. This is scary. I have never heard of this faction. I think that only Democrats should be allowed to

compete in Democratic primaries. No PSL and not the Democratic Socialists

Of course, the precedence was established when a non Democrat was allowed to compete in the Democratic Presidential primaries. Twice.

[yardwork]

50. Election laws are determined by states.

[muriel_volestrangler]

56. I can't find where the connection between Galindo and "PSL" has been made, apart in that post

It's the only meaningful result I get in a web search for Galindo and "PSL" or "Party for Socialism and Liberation" (which is a real thing - communist). I can't find anything in this election, or her previous try at a city council seat, saying she was a member of any organized faction or party.

Having said that, Galindo's suggestion that her opponent should perhaps be arrested for treason is nutty (she claims he's received funding from AIPAC; he says he hasn't; and while I detest AIPAC, it's not treasonous).

And now I've found the quote that I think someone pointed to in another thread, and this is straight-up antisemitism, so she needs to be defeated and never heard of in politics again:

“It’s all very complex. But, it’s my perception that Zionist billionaires run the world,” Galindo said. “They’re of all religions. But, especially Israeli, Jewish billionaire Zionists who disproportionately and factually own a lot of Hollywood production studios, media companies and banks.”

Galindo told the Current she has “no hatred toward any group,” except the “billionaire Zionists and their puppets.”

https://www.sacurrent.com/news/san-antonio-congressional-candidate-maureen-galindo-faces-antisemitism-accusations/

[LeftInTX]

63. She hangs with them. I've seen pics. I've seen too many people hanging with them and holding their signs.

She also stated she wanted a place to castrate people...

On Instagram Wednesday Galindo wrote that, if elected, she would “write legislation so that all Zionism and support of Zionism is undoubtedly Anti-Semitic, since it’s Zionists harming the Semites.” The candidate added that she would turn a local immigrant detention center “into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking,” adding in parentheses, “It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles which will probably be most of the Zionists.”

https://www.jta.org/2026/05/15/politics/talarico-wont-campaign-with-democratic-house-candidate-who-wants-to-open-a-prison-for-american-zionists?fbclid=IwY2xjawR2GS5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFqaEpPYWtkNlBUaHllUUduc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHqliQoZ63uh_OOV_gwpOdOLsLqUipGQdzYsFJ3gVnkGqHBghctvY-CuWXf4o_aem_7bO8LIKJGKWMIj-298hb6g





You can see their logo on the signs. She is speaking, but is holding the stake of a sign in the first pic
In the second pic you can see her maroon sweater holding the sign.

Very few people "identify" as running for a candidate in PSL The "belong to it", but they don't run as PSL candidates. As a matter of fact, one woman in the image is a member and she runs under various parties: Green and Democratic Party.

Our City Council races are strictly non-partisan.

Nov 2024's PSL presidential candidates ran as write-ins in Texas.

[carpetbagger]

7. I watched it

It is Netanyahu, and the Israeli voters who uphold his rule. And we're in a war because of him.

The conflation of opposition to Israeli policy with antisemitism is to me personally a sick joke. My own child opposes those policies and is a practicing Jew

Maher is an edge lord.

[question everything]

8. And what was the excuse of the torch marchers in 2017 in Charlottesville

chanting: Jews will not replace us?

[RandySF]

12. You're assuming people are sophisticated enough to separate Judaism and a government policy

They’re not and they’re lumping together and let honest the DSA and other groups aren’t lifting a finger.

[AZProgressive]

13. I don't see DSA or other groups as responsible

They likely oppose Israel's assault on Gaza and Palestinian territories as well as Iran or Lebanon but I don't think they're lumping them together. There are people on the left or "far left" that are Jewish.

There may be people that think Democrats shouldn't associate with Hasan Piker. I feel similar about Bill Maher but I will still vote for politicians that appear on his show same goes for Piker.

[RandySF]

14. Piker is a pig and his comments and actions prove it.

I don’t like Maher but they’re not equivalent.

[JI7]

15. We are at war because of TRUMP and the idiots that supported him and didn't support Harris

[lostincalifornia]

35. and those folks say this war with Iran is all because of Israel, that speaks

volumes.

As you said trump is the president, and trump is responsible for this.

It was trump who choose to unilaterally walk away from the Iran nuclear deal. It was trump who ordered the bombings of Iran twice in the middle of negotiations with Iran, even after saying after the first bombing the destroyed Iran’s nuclear capability. And not once have I heard a reporter ask trump after he says our main objective is to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, ask him, “I thought you said we destroyed their nuclear capability”?

The same thing was said after 9/11, blaming Israel for 9/11, though at that time that was a minority and it didn’t gain any traction. However, Cynthia McKinney at the time exploited it without the buffer of Israel, but directly spreading antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories directly targeting Jews.

After October 7th a similar pattern followed, blaming Israel for what happened on October 7th, and the student protests around the country not only highlighted that, but extrapolated that to Jews in general.

Blaming Israel for all the woes in the Middle East and beyond for quite a few people is a portal for them to blame the Jews in a not so subtle way.

[yardwork]

22. Opposition to Israel's actions is not the problem.

The problem is laid out very well in several posts in this thread.

Since your child is Jewish you might want to find out more about what's happening right now because all Jewish people are being targeted, and it doesn't matter that most of them are opposed to Israel's actions.

I'm deadly serious about this. I'm speaking as a parent to a parent.

[gulliver]

10. Jewphobia is truly starting to resemble rabies

Jewphobia is actually disgusting and sad in the same way rabies is. You watch a video of, say, a rabid young fox attacking a human being. You are looking at a really sick animal. It's frightening and pathetic at the same time. Foxes are normally shy, but a rabid fox just loses all control. It's fox brain is destroyed. It's nothing but a biting, attacking, drooling, terrified, angry little robot.

Maher didn't get any real laughs in this clip, and he was actually somewhat mocking the few audience members who laughed. It was uncomfortable.

Maher actually realizes, as I think the audience did, that this "horseshoe" Jewphobia we're seeing in our poor confused world is actually pretty scary and sickening. It's not hypocrisy or mere ignorance or mere stupidity. We wish. A whole lot of the sufferers don't care about hypocrisy or ignorance or stupidity. They're beyond that.

Who really knows what the sick, rabid fox thinks it's fighting when it crawls out of the woods and attacks someone? It's broken. It's not a hypocrite. It's not stupid. It's worse.

[RandySF]

11. I can't recommend this enough.

[Sympthsical]

17. It's the adolescent contrarian to tankie to antisemite pipeline

And it's so banal and tedious, it's almost unremarkable in how normalized it's become.

It's interesting because antisemitism doesn't seem to work in the same way usual racism does. Generally, people are frequently raised racist. It's handed down from parents, or communities, or cultures. Racism is something many people have to educate themselves out of, to grow past, to put in an effort to get their heads and their hearts right.

Antisemitism isn't like that. It is increasingly something people grow into. It is taught, it is in academia, it is increasingly considered a progressive play somehow.

There are people in my life I see less and interact with less because over the past few years, they've just morphed into full-on antisemitic. I don't mean they criticize Israel or Netanyahu. I mean they demand American Jews explain themselves. See no problem with the harassment they endure. Think anything bad that happens to them is deserved and explainable.

I've seen people I liked well and admired who went from having an unremarkable if a bit dull and trite critical anti-West posture devolve into full on "If a Jew is involved, it's probably their fault." And they don't hear themselves. They don't see themselves. They do not realize that they've been indoctrinated into thinking patterns straight out of the 19th Century.

They don't see it, don't hear it, cannot be deprogrammed from it.

It's sad, but also bizarre. Because I often wrestle with that lack of self-awareness. I just do not get how they do not hear themselves. And these are people who are hypersensitive to racial offense when any other group is involved. But as soon as Jews are on the table, it's "Well, you have to understand why people want to harass, beat, or kill them . . ."

And they're here. Almost daily I see something on DU that's along this vein. And it's just kind of . . . there now. It's part of being a Democrat. These bigots are tolerated and part of our coalition apparently. "Because Israel!"

I'm watching the direction of the party on this. I watch as they flirt with letting the Hasan Pikers of the world in. And I'll say this simply without threat or ornament - when the Pikers are let in, I'll be out. And that's just how that will go.

[yardwork]

21. Well said.

It's the effect of sustained brainwashing aimed at certain populations - especially young progressive white and Asian people and the earthy-crunchy flavor of boomers. My kids and I are either part of or adjacent to these groups so I'm seeing this firsthand.

It makes sense that the billionaires (including but not limited to Putin, Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos, Thiel, Mercer, Koch) would turn their propaganda now toward some of the historically most reliable Democratic voting blocs. They've totally brainwashed rural and conservative whites. Time to expand the reach.

I saw it begin in the early 2010s (when Putin established his dictatorship and attacked Crimea while the world yawned). DSA and other supposedly grass roots groups suddenly got huge influxes of cash and expanded exponentially. The atrocities and economic crash caused by W. Bush created fertile ground.

I noticed something about DSA and the other groups that started as an uneasy feeling and became very clear as a pattern. Local chapters that tried to focus on immediate local concerns, like organizing food drives or protecting immigrants, got derailed. The focus kept being disrupted and diffused into vague ideas and lots of infighting.

It became clear to me on October 8, 2023 that there was something very coordinated going on and it was aimed at defeating Biden and putting Trump back in the White House.

I have a personality that is skeptical (to the point of misanthropy) and I see patterns. I'm not very susceptible to emotional appeals so this particular flavor of propaganda doesn't work on me.

The billionaires have a lot of time and money. They will continue to come up with ways to destroy democracy by fooling voters into electing puppets. They want us all dead. They want a little world of extraordinarily wealthy compounds serviced by robots and slaves.

[question everything]

23. Thank you. It was determined that many of the pro Palestinians groups that appeared immediately

after the massacre have been supported by Qatar. They were ready.

[yardwork]

41. They were ready and they had identical slogans and props.

[betsuni]

32. The propaganda tailored to flip voters on the left against Democrats got better and more effective.

Only need that 1% in swing states.

[Joinfortmill]

30. Yup. I married a Jewish man and had two children...

They carry a very historic Jewish last name. My son worries a lot about his two children, who are young adults, because of their name. It is what it is and as it has always been. Stay safe out there.

[LeftInTX]

31. You should let your DNC rep know.

Go to your state party's website and they will list their DNC reps with contact info. Each state has numerous DNC reps.

[betsuni]

18. Anti-establishment anti-capitalist/West types put them in the Establishment binder

and nothing can change their minds because they are 100% sure they are right. It is black or white. No thinking, only emotion. Anything else is not just wrong but immoral and disgusting.

[biocube]

20. I'm sorry...in which those examples are we actually funding the atrocities?

The comparison is ****.

[BH liberal]

24. The Jews face...

a triple whammy that separates them from most other groups. They are not only identified as a religious sect, but also as a separate race and as closed-ranked economic conspirators to boot. In other words, they attract a whole host of bigots and other haters.

[Mossfern]

26. You must not know many Jewish people

to make such a statement. Or did I get you wrong?

[BH liberal]

29. I have dozens of Jews in my extended family...

I was referring to how so many others view those they often refer to as "the tribe" and the historical reasons behind the eons of persecution the Jewish people have faced.

[Prairie Gates]

25. Fuck Bill Maher

[BH liberal]

27. Maher has gone over to the Dark Side of the Farce...

I used to defend him, but he lost me when he asserted that Donald Trump wasn't the guy he plays at his rallies and press conferences. How effin' blind!

[yardwork]

45. Maher is an asshole but even a blind squirrel sometimes finds a nut.

Hatred of Jewish people is a real problem even though Maher sees it too.

[BannonsLiver]

34. Indeed.

That’s the most important takeaway from this thread.

[Abolishinist]

57. Congratulations! You're in contention for the weekly

Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show award!

[Joinfortmill]

28. It's a fine line, that's for sure.

[walkingman]

33. US military/economic support for Israel is the primary issue in present day political debate.

Ethnostates are racists by design - it is always a no-win situation.

[yardwork]

42. Every other nation in the middle east is also an ethnostate.

Why is Israel singled out?

Saudi Arabia is an "ethnostate" and also a brutal dictatorship ruled by a monarchy. We now know for sure that Saudi Arabia planned and executed the attacks on 9/11 to get the U.S. to attack their rival, Iraq.

Saudi Arabia's wealth depends on selling oil, so they have a strong incentive to use their billions to get Republicans elected in the U.S., who then tear down any efforts to develop alternative fuels. Look at the glee with which Musk and Trump destroyed the green revolution.

Why is Israel singled out? Think about it.

[walkingman]

58. I personally wish that Democrats and Republicans worried as much about our own state of affairs

at home as they seem to about anti-Semitism. The United States was founded an apartheid regime, with institutionalized inequality on the basis of race, gender and class, and is governed as an oligarchy.

Power is passed back and forth between two parties, both of which are run by rich people and committed to the interests of capital over the interests of "the people".

US military/economic interests in the Middle East seem to be far more important to the electorate than our own state of affairs. The Israeli, Gaza, Iranian issues is a political wedge issue with deep roots in religious and racial prejudice.

[yardwork]

60. I am worried about our state of affairs.

Hatred of Jewish people in the U.S. is our state of affairs. Attacks on Jewish people here are way up. Antisemitism was used as a tool to get people to vote against Kamala Harris. She was called Killer Kamala.

The problem is right here.

[PCIntern]

37. Stole land?

Of course. The same could be said for any established nation in the world, but Israel in particular gets on your last nerve?

DU rules prohibit me from continuing to state what your post merits.

[BH liberal]

38. The majority of civilized governments voted...

after the last straw that was the Holocaust to set aside a homeland for Jews. They did not invade and conquer; they had permission from the U.N. to occupy the land. Personally, I would have preferred to see the gift of Texas from We, the People. Would have been a win-win.

[PCIntern]

40. If the Jews had been given the planet Mars,

In 50 years we’d have had it up and running and everyone would be showing up and saying “That’s ours and we want it back!”

I’m tired of the old tropes and lots of folks nodding along. Don’t think Israel is great? Go live a progressive existence in an Arab country and see how long you’d last.

[yardwork]

47. Who is them in your post?

I'm not sure I understand. What do you mean by "them?"

[SSJVegeta]

52. The USA doesnt give billions of dollars and arrest people for protected free speech on behalf of the other countries.

Last edited Sat May 16, 2026, 05:26 PM - Edit history (1)

To criticize this policy with Israel -and Israel in this context, isnt "inconsistent." It is criticizing US Foreign policy. If the US gave nearly close the amount of weapons and financing to China, that same criticism would also apply.

Bill Maher is a fucking idiot.

[themaguffin]

53. There are some differences

Yeah, there may be some people, but most are pissed at Bibi and rightfully so.

That's not the case with the tiki torch crowd though.

[Pisces]

59. Bill you are completely off base with so much of your rants on Israel. The decimation of Gaza and now Lebanon

should not be seen as the lesser of two evils. The comparing or “What aboutism “ of other countries is a ridiculous argument. We shouldn’t condemn bad actions because others are just as bad or worse??
How about Israelis marching and shouting “Death to Arabs” ??

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/14/israel-nationalists-jerusalem-day-march-anniversary-protest

Or the story today where Palestinians have to demolish their own homes on their on dime to make way for a biblical amusement park??

Hamas is evil but the poor people being displaced did not ask for this. Just like I didn’t ask for Trump to blow up Venezuelan boats, or for him to bomb a school in Iran. Bill Maher can not see clearly because he is so indoctrinated in his support for Israel. I do not like the antisemitism that has been happening around the world. It is ugly and misplaced. Netanyahu and his govt is to blame for the atrocities being committed today, just like Trump and his admin are responsible for the nonsense going on right now. This never ending violence will continue to breed more hate and violence. This is a fact.

[Maru Kitteh]

62. As a Liberal, I fucking can't stand him. He's a pig - with apologies to pigs and

any any object or animal resembling a pig.

Serously. Fuck that guy.