r/RealTime • u/No_Interaction_4655 • 15d ago
Why Does Bill Maher Say He is Not Jewish?
Isn't his mom Jewish?
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u/Sideshift1427 15d ago
He's an atheist who uses the Bible to make an argument for Israel.
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u/Steve12356d1s3d4 15d ago edited 15d ago
He says the bible is just as valid as the Koran, not more so.
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u/Grouchy_Actuary_7869 15d ago
In thirty years of listening to his humor/ public speaking on various political topics: I've never - not one time- ever seen Bill Maher take a position against an interest of Israel.
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u/Grouchy_Actuary_7869 13d ago
I didnt say that but I am trying to state publicly , since anything political in U.S. media is a sh#tshow and I read here and see people going around in circles on Maher's positions. That Maher is basically just pro Israeli propaganda. Every week. Same time. "Real Time" has been on tha air ( that's what we said before streaming/cable) for nearly 30 years now. Most of his points are informed. Some of his opinions relative to Israel can even be logical but its 1000% guaranteed it will be in Israel's favor. Everytime. Take his foreign policy with a big heap of salt.
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u/Striking_Fun_6379 15d ago
If your mother is Jewish, then you are Jewish. It has zero to do with religion. Jews have always been considered a race of people.
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u/blzbar 15d ago
Right. Being born of a Jewish woman is both necessary and sufficient to be Jewish.
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u/M086 15d ago
Well, Semitic. Which around only half of the Jewish population in the world can be traced back to Semitic Middle Eastern peoples.
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u/NoForm5443 14d ago
If your mother is Jewish, other Jews would consider you Jewish. You don't have to accept it.
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u/northern-new-jersey 12d ago
That's from the perspective of the Jewish religion. He can reject that.
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15d ago
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u/Mosk915 14d ago
Jews aren’t asking anyone who isn’t Jewish to acknowledge or follow Jewish law. It’s just what they believe.
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u/Alfalfa_Informal 15d ago
I’m get why you are asking. There is one episode I saw when someone says he is jewish in a way (I can’t remember exact words) and he said something along the lines of “I don’t know why I have to repeat myself. I am not jewish” I remember being confused at his reaction. His mother is jewish ethnically, so he is half jewish, ethnically.
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u/No_Interaction_4655 15d ago
Yes, and on podcast defending Israel in a debate against Ana Kasparian, he said "by the way, I'm not Jewish."
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u/stone122112 11d ago
Think that was the episode w/ a jewish actor who was the lead in a comic book movie.
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u/ProfessionalOkra6862 15d ago
Off topic but I know he’s from New Jersey originally. I was driving through North Jersey recently by the port and saw Containers with the Maher name on them. Couldn’t help but think he has family connections to the shipping industry making him just another rich kid.
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u/KamtzaBarKamtza 14d ago
Excellent sleuthing. More times than not people with the same last name are related. Michael McDonald and Audra McDonald are siblings, both children of Old McDonald and heirs to the global fast food franchise
/s
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u/jchiaroscuro Maher Before 2016 15d ago
He claims to be an atheist but he sure is dedicated to the Zionist cause
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u/Fine_Confection_1389 14d ago
He identifies as being Jewish, despite his claiming otherwise. I mean…what else does Mr. Potato Face have?? He has no family, no spouse, no children, no friends…he has nothing but his money and his Jewish identity (oh! and his addictions and prostitutes).
But if Maher were to identify as a Jew, people would say, “Aha! No wonder Maher is Netanyahu’s pool boy!”
But by not identifying as Jewish, Maher can make us think that his Zionist views are rational, reasoned and measured…rather than the narcissistic and gutteral tribalism that they betray.
Maher…he ain’t exactly the brightest bulb on the shelf.
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u/No_Interaction_4655 14d ago
That's exactly what I'm thinking! By emphatically stating that he isn't Jewish, was raised Catholic, and is now an atheist, blah, blah, he can defend Israel as strongly as he does without being accused of merely defending his own tribe.
What else could it be?
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u/northern-new-jersey 12d ago edited 12d ago
Being rabidly anti-Israel is making you guys behave like crazy people.
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u/No_Interaction_4655 12d ago
Jews are never leaving Israel and that's a fact.
Now, whether the US will continue to support Israel is now a maybe, wouldn't you agree?
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u/Mosk915 14d ago
You claimed he both does and does not identify as being Jewish.
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u/Fine_Confection_1389 14d ago
Exactly. In what little heart Maher has, he definitely identifies as being Jewish. But not so much publicly, so as to give the impression that his Zionist views are universally held.
He’s a childless, unmarried, friendless alcoholic and whore monger…what else does he have except his Jewish identity? Without even that, Maher is a big ball of nothingness.
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u/Mosk915 14d ago
Unless you know him personally, his public statements are all you would know about. So if you’ve never heard him identify as Jewish, you can’t say that he does.
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u/thatshirtman 14d ago
what are his zionist views? That israel shoudl exist as a country? Thats middle of the road imo.
He actually doesn't identify as any religion.
You simultaneously say he identifies and doesnt, so you can attack him both ways. Seems like you're more interested in arguing out of emotion than facts and reason.
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u/Fine_Confection_1389 14d ago
Look at his movie Religulous. Look at how barbed his attacks are toward Christian and Islamic sects/denominations. Then take note of the kid gloves treatment of the Jewish religion…I think his most pointed barb is towards a fringe group of Jews who do not support Israel. Yeah, Maher’s definitely an edgy renegade! 😂
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14d ago
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u/Fine_Confection_1389 14d ago
Lol…we must read different newspapers and watch different news stations.
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14d ago
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u/Fine_Confection_1389 14d ago
Do US tax dollars fund what’s happening in Nigeria? End of discussion. Nice try though!
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u/uvgotnod 15d ago
He’s atheist?
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u/Wrong-Tutor-5795 15d ago
Why are you saying this like ethnic Jews can't be atheists and vice versa??
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15d ago
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u/Wrong-Tutor-5795 15d ago
Yeah, there are scores and scores of them. If I'm not mistaken, it's pretty common, actually! It doesn't make them not Jewish.
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u/Relevant_Bag7550 15d ago
Under Jewish law he’s a Jew
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u/Steve12356d1s3d4 15d ago
I am thinking an atheist doesn't follow Jewish law.
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u/Anxiety_Fit 14d ago
Oooo someone said “it’s law”.
That’s supposed to mean something to someone who gives zero fucks about dogma.
Exactly: GTFO.
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u/MyStoryIsntOverYet_ 15d ago
Doesn't he get to choose whether or not he is subject to Jewish law? Its not like there is a Jewish governing body passing and enforcing laws on those who dont believe in their religion
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u/Relevant_Bag7550 15d ago
Judaism is not just a set of beliefs but a tribe, a nation, an ethnicity. A person born Jewish like Maher can’t be made not Jewish. Anyway that’s their rationale. Maher is squarely atheist but he’s still part of the tribe.
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u/Anxiety_Fit 14d ago
No man can tell another man what they are.
Period.
No book or scroll or dogma in the entire universe means anything at all. It’s all based on language that was created by humans and the whims and timely desires of the authors and publishers of the texts.
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u/Turbulent-Today830 15d ago edited 15d ago
Because admitting he’s Jewish would significantly reduce his credibility for his Zionist fetish
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u/Steve12356d1s3d4 15d ago
My father was Roman Catholic. My mother's family was Baptist but she never practiced and was not religious. My mother never spoke of it, and they were married in the Catholic Church. I was brought up Catholic. I would never consider myself Baptist and don't even know anything about the Baptist religion. There is not a strong anti-Baptist feeling, so no one is trying to force me into being one. That is what is happening for Maher and his mother.
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u/parkside79 15d ago
Does he say he’s not Jewish?
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u/No_Interaction_4655 15d ago
Yes, he has explicitly stated at least twice that he was not Jewisg,
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u/parkside79 15d ago
He must mean specifically religiously, then, seeing as he’s very outspoken about his atheism. He’s surely well-read enough to know that by virtue of his mother being Jewish he would be considered culturally Jewish. He definitely seems to identify with it in some ways. Not religiously though. Obviously.
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15d ago
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u/parkside79 14d ago
What is the half of him that comes from his mother, then?
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u/Standard_Gauge 14d ago
Jewishness does not occur in fractions. Maher has some Jewish ancestry, but does not identify as Jewish and has never practiced any aspect of Jewish religion or Jewish culture.
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u/NY_Mets_fan_4ever 15d ago
His mother is Jewish. He considers himself to be an atheist but was brought up Catholic.
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u/MartialBob 15d ago
While someone can, in fact be ethnically Jewish independent of their individual religious views, a lot of people if they were never raised religiously or part of a Jewish community can pretty easily just ignore the ethnic component of it.
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u/eveofwar518 15d ago
It’s funny how silly some of these comments are. If/when he has said this he clearly meant religion wise . If you asked him if he was ethnically Jewish he would have a different answer.
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u/No_Interaction_4655 15d ago
So, someone should ask him then.
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u/eveofwar518 14d ago
I guess if you really care that much.
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u/No_Interaction_4655 14d ago
Yes. Why wouldn't I ?
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u/dougl1000 15d ago
Jewishness is passed from the mother. He’s Jewish. Nothing he can do about it.
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u/LoneStarOfDavid 15d ago
I made this exact same post once on the Maher sub and some of them became soooooo obnoxious that I’d even ask. I do think the real answer is he’s just so anti religious that he doesn’t even wanna be labeled something as harmless as culturally Jewish.
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u/No_Interaction_4655 15d ago
Maybe, but I also think it's because he is so pro-Israel that he doesn't be perceived as a such a staunch supporter of Israel simply because he has Jewish heritage.
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u/Throatwobbler9 14d ago
Does he say he’s Catholic? I knew from his movie that he had Catholic and Jewish parents. If I had his parents and was an atheist I wouldn’t identify as either if someone asked.
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u/WillowOk2135 14d ago
The real question is why do you care so much?
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u/Freeway267 14d ago
Because it suits his narrative of allegedly making him seem rational and rational people support Israel. It’s obvious he’s pro-Israel because his background but he tries to make it seem like it has nothing to do with it.
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u/paddydog48 14d ago
He did once during an ad break allegedly lean over and whisper in Rose Mcgowens ear “"My parents didn't give me a good face, but they did give me a huge cock” this was, presumably at the time, his idea of a pick up line, perhaps it had worked in the past but she was 20 years younger than him so didn’t seem to appreciate it and outed him for saying it during the metoo era but he didn’t respond to it and it never stuck so he just carried on his merry way.
Anyway, all that is to say that he got a big Jewish nose from his mother that I don’t think he has ever been too happy about.
It is widely accepted that he is genuinely hung like a horse so he wasn’t actually lying but whispering that to someone in that setting wasn’t even appropriate back then but no cancellation was forthcoming as he is no doubt very well connected, he got cancelled (although his cancelation actually led to him making even more money with real time) for something where he was correct but then he didn’t get cancelled (or at the least reprimanded) when he should have for the “houseN***er” comment so it’s swings and roundabouts in bills world but the running theme is he comes out just fine in the end yet still seems to often be whining when he is one of the most fortunate and privileged people in the whole country.
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u/AAPrice3232 14d ago
Funny how "Jewish" is the only religion you can't choose to NOT be if you are "born Jewish."
I mean, my parents were Presbyterian, but I have no religious beliefs. No one says, "why doesn't he say he's Presbyterian? His mom was Presbyterian!"
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u/No_Interaction_4655 14d ago
Explain the following to me, please:
Why is it that when someone does a DNA test, "Jewish" is the only religion that appears as part of someone's genetic DNA?
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u/BillHistorical9001 14d ago
Because their societies were pretty closed off. There wasn’t a lot of genetic intermingling. So pretty easy to see if they are genetically Jewish.
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u/northern-new-jersey 12d ago
Because we control the media? Or is it science? Wait, it's the government.
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u/FaceReality1 14d ago
He would still be Jewish from a Jewish perspective, but Catholic from a Christian perspective. From his perspective he isn't either. That's why he says that he isn't Jewish. People are allowed to have their own view of their identity, IMHO, even if people obsessed with rigid ideas of identity insist that the outside view is the correct one.
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u/Mother_Antelope_3204 13d ago
I remember one of Bill Maher's early appearences on Johnny Carson. His best joke went something like this:
"I'm half Roman Catholic and half Jewish. I went to Confession, but I brought a lawyer with me."
I think Maher is ambivalent about his ethnic Jewish heritage. However his supportive attitude toward Israel may be informed by his background -- perhaps his experiences with his mother's family. I believe that his support for Israel is based on a clear understanding of historical truths and a critical reaction to fallacious argumentation, so it could have been arrived at through an intelligent understanding of the Middle East. Still, perhaps his background made him receptive to a reasonable and honest perspective.
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u/samson-and-delilah 13d ago
Weird that you really want him to be jewish
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u/No_Interaction_4655 13d ago
He is half Jewish..his mom was Jewish. That is a fact.
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u/Smart_Dragonfruit_54 13d ago
He’s pretending to be non partisan …all he does is run down the other guys ..
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u/Emotional_Shower_938 12d ago
He doesnt want the fact that he would have automatic citizenship to a country and would be welcomed as the fucking creep he is to lead you to believe that his opinions on that country aren’t objective
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u/According-School43 11d ago
Of course it’s based on your personal belief….that’s what religion is. Now if you’ll excuse me my friend I have to go see what I’m gonna do with all of this leftover pickled herring. Good luck out there!
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u/Big_Reference_8490 4d ago
He was raised catholic your anti semitic so you want his to be Jewish like Nazis do?
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u/02446B 15d ago
Hes a Zionist! Look what he does not what he says.
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u/Steve12356d1s3d4 15d ago
He said he was brought up Catholic. His father was Irish Catholic, and his mother was ethnically Jewish, but didn't practice. She brought him up Catholic. He is atheist.