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John Oliver Misses the Mark on Israel and Hamas
More than a month into Israel’s defensive war against Hamas, British comedian John Oliver recently dedicated a significant amount of his weekly HBO show Last Week Tonight to discussing current events in both Israel and Gaza.
However, while Oliver’s analysis is presented as balanced and insightful, it falls short in several areas.
In particular, Oliver’s depiction of Hamas, his portrayal of Israeli actions in Gaza both before and during the war, and his characterization of the discourse surrounding a ceasefire are all lacking in both context and nuance.
John Oliver’s Misunderstanding of Hamas
From the depiction of Hamas throughout his monologue, it is clear that John Oliver and the writers at Last Week Tonight have a very shallow understanding of what the Palestinian terror group is and what it stands for.
Not once during the 32-minute-long segment does Oliver mention the contents of Hamas’ 1988 founding charter or the terror group’s explicitly stated raison d’etre: The ultimate destruction of the Jewish state.
The farthest that Oliver will go is to inform his audience that Hamas was opposed to the Oslo peace process and tried to derail it through bus bombings. However, he never identifies the genocidal ideology that underpinned Hamas’ “resistance” to Israel.
Instead, Oliver claims that historically and prior to the 2006 Palestinian election (where Hamas ultimately won a majority of seats), Hamas ran on an anti-corruption platform and that it had gone “out of its way to present itself as more moderate back then.”
A narrative is thus created of Hamas as something that started out as a moderate anti-corruption political party, as opposed to the internationally-recognized terror group that it truly is.
Oliver’s source for asserting Hamas moderation? None other than an old English-language interview with Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad, where he claims that Hamas is a moderate and open-minded organization that believes in democracy and “political pluralization.”
As any analyst will tell you, Hamas has a history of moderating its tone in English while simultaneously engaging in extremist rhetoric in Arabic. All a researcher at HBO had to do was search for a Hamas election rally in 2005/2006 (such as this one, where Ismail Haniyeh says no to recognizing Israel or negotiating with it) to know that, to Palestinian voters, Hamas did not moderate its tone in the lead up to the 2006 election.
By presenting Hamas through Western framing, Oliver makes such outrageous statements as implicitly comparing Hamas to the current Israeli government (and regardless of one’s political beliefs, there is no comparison between the Palestinian terror group and the current coalition under Benjamin Netanyahu), and by claiming that “as prospects for peace collapsed, Hamas seems to be vindicated in its messaging.”
John Oliver’s Lop-Sided Look at Israel’s Activities in Gaza
Another area where John Oliver’s analysis misses the mark is in his depiction of Israel’s activities in Gaza both before and during the war.
Throughout the piece, Oliver describes Israel’s defensive war against Hamas as “the relentless bombings of civilians,” “collective punishment” (which he deems to be a “war crime”), and “horrifying.”
He even goes so far as to describe Israel’s deliberate targeting of Hamas infrastructure as “a barrage of Israeli rockets,” implicitly comparing it to Hamas’ indiscriminate bombing of Israeli civilian areas.
While Oliver is openly critical of Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza, he is conspicuously silent about Hamas’ embedding of its terror infrastructure within densely populated civilian areas, about Israel’s opening of a humanitarian corridor to the south for Palestinians fleeing the fighting, and about the foreign aid that Israel has allowed to enter the embattled strip as it continues to uproot Hamas.
John Oliver’s portrayal of Israel’s relationship with Gaza prior to the war also lacks proper context and nuance.
Oliver claims that “Israel’s approach to Gaza has been truly punishing. Fencing people in, limiting exits, and trapping them inside what has been called ‘an open-air prison’ by many human rights organizations. Life under a blockade there has been hard for a long time even when there aren’t bombs flying.”
He then goes on to show a clip of a 2019 PBS report that discusses water accessibility, public hygiene, electricity, and how many Gazans allegedly have “a sense of having little to lose.”
However, once again, this is not the full picture of Israel’s relationship to Gaza.
Oliver conveniently disregards the following salient facts:
Both Israel and Egypt enacted a blockade of Gaza in order to impede Hamas’ importation of weaponry.
Hamas misused foreign aid money earmarked for Gaza’s infrastructure in order to develop its terror infrastructure.
Hamas negligence led to the majority of Gaza’s water being non-drinkable.
Israel provided Gaza with almost 10% of its water needs and 50% of its electricity needs before October 7.
Prior to October 7, Israel had granted work permits to over 15,000 Gazans.
John Oliver Calls for a Ceasefire
Near the end of this piece, John Oliver calls for a ceasefire, saying that it is the “first step” to a solution for “peace in the Middle East.”
Oliver concedes that there is the danger of Hamas using a ceasefire to regroup but he claims that danger will exist whenever the war ends and the continuation of the war will only create more extremists in Gaza.
However, Oliver’s analysis falls short in that it places the onus entirely on Israel for implementing a ceasefire, it calls for a ceasefire without preconditions (such as the release of the hostages); takes for granted that Hamas will continue to rule after the war (as opposed to Israel’s stated goal of uprooting Hamas); and doesn’t take into account that extremists do not always arise out of the dust of an intense bombardment (such as the destruction of the Nazi regime and the uprooting of Imperial Japan).
Further, in supporting his call for a ceasefire, Oliver references the numerous ceasefire rallies that have taken place around the world.
However, these rallies are hardly the moral and humanitarian voices that Oliver portrays them as. Many of these protests have made little to no mention of Hamas’ continual attacks against Israel, have placed the entire onus for the conflict on Israel’s shoulders, have been marred by antisemitism and violence, and have even been attended by those blatantly supporting Hamas.
As Within Our Lifetime, one of the groups organizing these rallies, expressed in a recent advertisement, it starts with a ceasefire and ends with “cease Zionism,” effectively calling for the dismantling of the Jewish state.
The post John Oliver Misses the Mark on Israel and Hamas first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s Sharaa Says Talks With Israel Could Yield Results ‘In Coming Days’
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks at the opening ceremony of the 62nd Damascus International Fair, the first edition held since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, in Damascus, Syria, Aug. 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security pact could lead to results “in the coming days.”
He told reporters in Damascus the security pact was a “necessity” and that it would need to respect Syria’s airspace and territorial unity and be monitored by the United Nations.
Syria and Israel are in talks to reach an agreement that Damascus hopes will secure a halt to Israeli airstrikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who have pushed into southern Syria.
Reuters reported this week that Washington was pressuring Syria to reach a deal before world leaders gather next week for the UN General Assembly in New York.
But Sharaa, in a briefing with journalists including Reuters ahead of his expected trip to New York to attend the meeting, denied the US was putting any pressure on Syria and said instead that it was playing a mediating role.
He said Israel had carried out more than 1,000 strikes on Syria and conducted more than 400 ground incursions since Dec. 8, when the rebel offensive he led toppled former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
Sharaa said Israel’s actions were contradicting the stated American policy of a stable and unified Syria, which he said was “very dangerous.”
He said Damascus was seeking a deal similar to a 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria that created a demilitarized zone between the two countries.
He said Syria sought the withdrawal of Israeli troops but that Israel wanted to remain at strategic locations it seized after Dec. 8, including Mount Hermon. Israeli ministers have publicly said Israel intends to keep control of the sites.
He said if the security pact succeeds, other agreements could be reached. He did not provide details, but said a peace agreement or normalization deal like the US-mediated Abraham Accords, under which several Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel, was not currently on the table.
He also said it was too early to discuss the fate of the Golan Heights because it was “a big deal.”
Reuters reported this week that Israel had ruled out handing back the zone, which Donald Trump unilaterally recognized as Israeli during his first term as US president.
“It’s a difficult case – you have negotiations between a Damascene and a Jew,” Sharaa told reporters, smiling.
SECURITY PACT DERAILED IN JULY
Sharaa also said Syria and Israel had been just “four to five days” away from reaching the basis of a security pact in July, but that developments in the southern province of Sweida had derailed those discussions.
Syrian troops were deployed to Sweida in July to quell fighting between Druze armed factions and Bedouin fighters. But the violence worsened, with Syrian forces accused of execution-style killings and Israel striking southern Syria, the defense ministry in Damascus and near the presidential palace.
Sharaa on Wednesday described the strikes near the presidential palace as “not a message, but a declaration of war,” and said Syria had still refrained from responding militarily to preserve the negotiations.
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Anti-Israel Activists Gear Up to ‘Flood’ UN General Assembly
US Capitol Police and NYPD officers clash with anti-Israel demonstrators, on the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC, July 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Anti-Israel groups are planning a wave of raucous protests in New York City during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) over the next several days, prompting concerns that the demonstrations could descend into antisemitic rhetoric and intimidation.
A coalition of anti-Israel activists is organizing the protests in and around UN headquarters to coincide with speeches from Middle Eastern leaders and appearances by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The demonstrations are expected to draw large crowds and feature prominent pro-Palestinian voices, some of whom have been criticized for trafficking in antisemitic tropes, in addition to calling for the destruction of Israe.
Organizers of the demonstrations have promoted the coordinated events on social media as an opportunity to pressure world leaders to hold Israel accountable for its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, with some messaging framed in sharply hostile terms.
On Sunday, for example, activists shouted at Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon.
“Zionism is terrorism. All you guys are terrorists committing ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza and Palestine. Shame on you, Zionist animals,” they shouted.
BREAKING: PRO-PALESTINE PROTESTORS CONFRONT “ISRAELI” AMBASSADOR DANNY DANON AT THE UNITED NATIONS
1/5 pic.twitter.com/4G1VYEMGzV
— Within Our Lifetime (@WOLPalestine) September 14, 2025
The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), warned on its website that the scale and tone of the planned demonstrations risk crossing the line from political protest into hate speech, arguing that anti-Israel activists are attempting to hijack the UN gathering to spread antisemitism and delegitimize the Jewish state’s right to exist.
Outside the UN last week, masked protesters belonging to the activist group INDECLINE kicked a realistic replica of Netanyahu’s decapitated head as though it were a soccer ball.
US activist group plays soccer with Bibi’s mock decapitated HEAD right outside NYC UN HQ
Peep shot at 00:40
Footage posted by INDECLINE collective just as UN General Assembly about to kick off
‘Following the game, ball was donated to Palestinian Genocide Museum’ pic.twitter.com/TQ84sgZhKr
— RT (@RT_com) September 9, 2025
Within Our Lifetime (WOL), a radical anti-Israel activist group, has vowed to “flood” the UNGA on behalf of the pro-Palestine movement.
WOL, one of the most prolific anti-Israel activist groups, came under immense fire after it organized a protest against an exhibition to honor the victims of the Oct. 7 massacre at the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. During the event, the group chanted “resistance is justified when people are occupied!” and “Israel, go to hell!”
“We will be there to confront them with the truth: Their silence and inaction enable genocide. The world cannot continue as if Gaza does not exist,” WOL said of its planned demonstrations in New York. “This is the time to make our voices impossible to ignore. Come to New York by any means necessary, to stand, to march, to demand the UN act and end the siege.”
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), two other anti-Israel organizations that have helped organize widespread demonstrations against the Jewish state during the war in Gaza, also announced they are planning a march from Times Square to the UN headquarters on Friday.
“The time is now for each and every UN member state to uphold their duty under international law: sanction Israel and end the genocide,” the groups said in a statement.
JVP, an organization that purports to fight for “Palestinian liberation,” has positioned itself as a staunch adversary of the Jewish state. The group argued in a 2021 booklet that Jews should not write Hebrew liturgy because hearing the language would be “deeply traumatizing” to Palestinians. JVP has repeatedly defended the Oct. 7 massacre of roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel by Hamas as a justified “resistance.” Chapters of the organization have urged other self-described “progressives” to throw their support behind Hamas and other terrorist groups against Israel
Similarly, PYM, another radical anti-Israel group, has repeatedly defended terrorism and violence against the Jewish state. PYM has organized many anti-Israel protests in the two years following the Oct. 7 attacks in the Jewish state. Recently, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) called for a federal investigation into the organization after Aisha Nizar, one of the group’s leaders, urged supporters to sabotage the US supply chain for the F-35 fighter jet, one of the most advanced US military assets and a critical component of Israel’s defense.
The UN General Assembly has historically been a flashpoint for heated debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Previous gatherings have seen dueling demonstrations outside the Manhattan venue, with pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups both seeking to influence the international spotlight.
While warning about the demonstrations, CAM noted it recently launched a new mobile app, Report It, that allows users worldwide to quickly and securely report antisemitic incidents in real time.
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Nina Davidson Presses Universities to Back Words With Action as Jewish Students Return to Campus Amid Antisemitism Crisis
Nina Davidson on The Algemeiner’s ‘J100’ podcast. Photo: Screenshot
Philanthropist Nina Davidson, who served on the board of Barnard College, has called on universities to pair tough rhetoric on combatting antisemitism with enforcement as Jewish students returned to campuses for the new academic year.
“Years ago, The Algemeiner had published a list ranking the most antisemitic colleges in the country. And number one was Columbia,” Davidson recalled on a recent episode of The Algemeiner‘s “J100” podcast. “As a board member and as someone who was representing the institution, it really upset me … At the board meeting, I brought it up and I said, ‘What are we going to do about this?’”
Host David Cohen, chief executive officer of The Algemeiner, explained he had revisited Davidson’s remarks while she was being honored for her work at The Algemeiner‘s 8th annual J100 gala, held in October 2021, noting their continued relevance.
“It could have been the same speech in 2025,” he said, underscoring how longstanding concerns about campus antisemitism, while having intensified in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, are not new.
Davidson argued that universities already possess the tools to protect students – codes of conduct, time-place-manner rules, and consequences for threats or targeted harassment – but too often fail to apply them evenly. “Statements are not enough,” she said, arguing that institutions need to enforce their rules and set a precedent that there will be consequences for individuals who refuse to follow them.
She also said that stakeholders – alumni, parents, and donors – are reassessing their relationships with schools that, in their view, have not safeguarded Jewish students. While supportive of open debate, Davidson distinguished between protest and intimidation, calling for leadership that protects expression while ensuring campus safety.
The episode surveyed specific pressure points that administrators will face this fall: repeat anti-Israel encampments, disruptions of Jewish programming, and the challenge of distinguishing political speech from conduct that violates university rules. “Unless schools draw those lines now,” Davidson warned, “they’ll be scrambling once the next crisis hits.”
Cohen closed by framing the discussion as a test of institutional credibility, asking whether universities will “turn policy into protection” in real time. Davidson agreed, pointing to students who “need to know the rules aren’t just on paper.”
The full conversation is available on The Algemeiner’s “J100” podcast.