Liberal comedian Bill Maher crashed into the loaded debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Thursday night with a sexist tweet comparing Hamas to a “crazy woman” that “you have to slap.”
Dealing w/ Hamas is like dealing w/ a crazy woman who’s trying to kill u – u can only hold her wrists so long before you have to slap her
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) July 18, 2014
The host of HBO’s “Real Time” tweeted the comparison as Israel was launching a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip following a 10-day campaign of over 2,000 air strikes in an attempt to halt Hamas rocket fire.
Maher’s tweet naturally sparked a swift backlash, both from people who accused him of defending Israel’s actions and from those who thought his tweet endorsed domestic violence.