Bill Maher says far left, far right uniting in antisemitism

Comedian and HBO host Bill Maher laments growing acceptance of anti-Jewish bigotry on both ends of the political spectrum.

By World Israel News Staff

Comedian and HBO host Bill Maher last week lamented the growing acceptance of anti-Jewish bigotry on both ends of the political spectrum, slamming the far left and far right for converging around antisemitism.

Speaking on Friday’s episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Maher called the trend of growing antisemitism on the progressive left and among elements of the populist right “really frightening.”

“The meathead bros and the crazy f—— pink-haired weirdos agree on one thing — they don’t like the Jews,” Maher said. He added that the convergence amounted to a shared impulse to treat Jews as “the problem of everything.”

Maher framed the issue as a cross-ideological one rather than a problem confined to either the nationalist right or the activist left. He said it was striking to see groups that otherwise oppose each other arrive at similar hostility toward Jews.

The remarks came during an episode of Maher’s weekly HBO show that featured physician Ezekiel Emanuel and panelists Douglas Murray and Paul Rieckhoff.

The guests on Friday’s show echoed Maher’s sentiments.

“There’s been a normalization of it when it comes to Jews from the far right and the far left,” said Murray, a longtime critic of antisemitism and anti-Israel extremism.

Dr. Emanuel agreed with Murray, noting that there is greater tolerance now for antisemitic comments, which he argued was part of a broader acceptance of bigotry.

“Things you couldn’t say are being said now about all sorts of groups and people,” Dr. Emanuel said.

Maher has for years taken a sharply critical line toward anti-Israel activism that, in his view, spills into antisemitism. During Friday’s show, he compared the increasingly fierce anti-Israel rhetoric on the far left and far right to antisemitism throughout history.

“I don’t know who put the ‘kick me’ sign on their back,” Maher said.