On Israel, Maher Likes the President
Bill Maher is an expert Bush basher. But don’t let it be said that the HBO talk-show host and political funnyman is incapable of showing a bit of love for the president. In an August 28 interview with Larry King, Maher gave Bush the thumbs up for his record on Israel.
“I mean, can you imagine if there was a terrorist organization that took over the country on our northern border, which would be Canada, and they started shelling us in our northern cities and Minnesota, and Bangor, Maine, was being shelled? What do you think George Bush would do?” Maher said. “I think he would nuke them before breakfast. And look, you know I don’t like George Bush, but he is the best president we’ve ever had on Israel because for some reason, he gets that.”
Don’t worry, though, Maher isn’t going soft. He wasted no time offering a suitably offensive explanation for Bush’s pro-Israel positions: “I think the reason he gets it is because he’s a crazy evangelical Christian.”
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
