Jewish actor slams John Oliver for criticizing US support of Israel

John Oliver blamed the Jewish state for the ‘relentless bombings of civilians’ while slamming the United States for sending military aid saying they are ‘heavily implicated’ in Palestinian suffering.

By Shiryn Ghermezian, The Algemeiner

Jewish-American comedian and actor Jon Lovitz reprimanded British talk show host John Oliver this week after the latter criticized the United States on his HBO show for supporting Israel and the alleged “suffering” the Jewish state has caused among Palestinians in Gaza during its ongoing war against Hamas terrorists.

Lovitz wrote in a post on X/Twitter that the US would of course support its “democratic ally” Israel over a terrorist organization — Hamas — that perpetrated the deadly Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel “so they could start a never-ending war with Israel and annihilate Israel and then Jews all over the world.” He concluded the post by saying, “God bless America. #IstandwithIsrael.”

In a separate post, the Three Amigos! star shared a link to an article headlined, “Hamas terrorists confess to raping corpses, beheading children.” Lovitz told Oliver, “Please talk about this on your next show.”

Jon Lovitz tweet about Jon Oliver. (Twitter Screenshot)

Lovitz has been strongly supportive on social media of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas since the Oct. 7 atrocities, in which Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took over 240 others as hostages, most of whom are still in captivity.

After Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) blasted the US last week for wanting to fund Israel’s “long-term military occupation over an already battered and impoverished people,” Lovitz challenged the lawmaker in a post on X.

“Well, you’ve done a great job at keeping peace in the region,” the actor wrote sarcastically. “They don’t want peace. They want to kill all Israelis … Are you really this naive?”

During the most recent episode of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver on Nov. 12, Oliver gave an opening monologue that focused on the Israel-Hamas war. He said Israel has launched a “siege” of Gaza in retaliation for the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks and then slammed America for backing Israel and giving it military aid over the years. He accused the US of being “heavily implicated” in why Palestinians are suffering in the Gaza Strip, and commented that the “made in America” slogan Americans are so “proud of” is being tied to “stuff that’s killing people.”

“Collective punishment is a war crime,” Oliver added, referring to Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip. He blamed the Jewish state for the “relentless bombings of civilians” and made allegations about Israel’s actions towards Gaza before the war started.

“Israel’s approach to Gaza has been truly punishing,” he said. “Fencing people in, limiting exits, and trapping them inside what has been called an open-air prison … Life under a blockade there has been hard for a long time, even where there aren’t bombs flying.”

During his monologue he also said a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas “has to be the first step” in currently bringing peace to the Middle East, criticizing the leadership of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and backhandedly calling Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan as “asshole.”

“I don’t want to say anything to deny the pain of those in Israel who have lost loved ones to a truly barbarous act or who are waiting anxiously for the return of hostages,” he further noted. “[But] it has to be possible to feel the pain in one community without denying it in another.”

The Nov. 12 episode of Oliver’s show did not air as scheduled in Israel due to a “technical mishap,” a spokesperson for the Israeli television company Yes told the New York Post on Thursday. Yes said the episode is instead available for viewing on its “video on-demand” platform. The New York Post said the company declined to comment on an Israeli news report citing a Facebook post from Yes’ official social media page that accused Oliver of parroting “Hamas propaganda.”

anti-IsraelGazaJohn OliverJon LovitzUS military aid