Bill Maher marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks by arguing that the United States successfully prevented another attack on that scale while becoming increasingly reluctant to identify terrorism and the ideology behind it.

“New rule: Since it's the 25th anniversary of 9/11, and since for 25 years we've been kept relatively safe from anything close to another 9/11, how about a hand for the Americans who made that happen?” Maher said.

“Because it didn't just happen. There was a war on terror, and we won.”

Maher said attitudes toward terrorism have changed considerably since 2001, pointing to journalism organizations and media outlets that have discouraged or restricted use of the word “terrorist.”

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“Really, we can't anymore just say out loud who the bad guys were that morning?” Maher asked.

“Those 19 hijackers, they shared something. Oh, let's call it a worldview, and it wasn't astrology.”

He argued that avoiding clear language about terrorist attacks creates confusion rather than greater understanding.

“You know what's really a barrier to understanding? Lying,” Maher said.

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Maher recalled his own comments after 9/11 about political correctness and said his argument that greater honesty was necessary did not prevail.

“Political correctness itself is something we can no longer afford. Feelings are going to get hurt, so that actual people won't,” Maher said of his position at the time.

He then described the ideological conflict exposed by 9/11 as one between radical Islamism and Western liberalism rather than between Muslims and Christians.

“Not between Muslims and Christians, no reasonable person was saying that, but radical Islamism versus Western liberalism? Yes, that's a real thing,” Maher said.

Maher questioned why some liberals have aligned themselves politically with movements whose positions conflict with liberal values involving religious freedom, homosexuality and equality for women.

“Fighting people who hate freedom of religion, and hate homosexuals, and hate the idea of women as equal and free humans, how did liberals wind up on their side?” Maher asked.

He also criticized young Americans who view Osama bin Laden positively and argued that an overwhelmingly negative view of the United States has contributed to sympathy for those who attack it.

“But the prevailing view of so many young people is that, well, come on, we're the worst country ever. So if someone attacks us, they can't be all bad,” Maher said.

Maher then connected what he called that “moral confusion” to Gaza, arguing that Hamas should be viewed as a terrorist organization rather than a liberation movement.

“And the people who run Gaza, Hamas, who you celebrate as a liberation movement, but are really a terrorist mafia gang just like the one that terrorizes Haiti, only ever used it to stage attacks on Israel,” Maher said.

He rejected claims that Israel’s military actions in Gaza constitute genocide, instead characterizing the conflict as a wartime counterattack.

“It's not a genocide. It's a counterattack in a war,” Maher said.

Maher also criticized celebrities who have spoken about Gaza, including Macklemore and Ariana Grande, and disputed claims concerning starvation in the territory.

He cited figures involving humanitarian aid and patients leaving Gaza for treatment as part of his argument against describing the war as genocide.

“Gaza equals genocide is a lie, an easily provable lie, and the fact that so many prominent Democrats go along with it is, to me, the party's worst moment since they undid Reconstruction after the Civil War,” Maher said.

Maher argued that Democrats have created pressure for candidates to use the term genocide, comparing that political expectation with what he described as pressure within the Republican Party involving the 2020 presidential election.

“You know, with Republicans, there's something you have to say, even though you know it's bullshit. You have to say Trump won in 2020. This is the Democrats version of that,” Maher said.

He then focused on the meaning of the word genocide, arguing that civilian deaths during a war do not automatically satisfy that definition.

“You can't just change the definition of genocide to mean counterattack in a war where people, including civilians, die. That's every war,” Maher said.

Maher contrasted deaths in Gaza with the destruction of Poland’s Jewish population during World War II to illustrate his argument.

“There were 3 million Jews in Poland before World War II. After: 45,000. That's genocide,” Maher said.

He concluded by arguing that describing Israel’s actions as genocide contributes to rising antisemitism because the accusation provides people with what they see as moral justification for hostility toward Jews.

“If you're one of the many people these days asking, This explosion of anti-Semitism around the world that we see, where is it coming from? This. This is where it's coming from,” Maher said.

“Because if you really think someone is committing genocide, of course you have full permission to hate them. And history shows, for whatever reason, when it comes to hating the Jews, people don't need a lot of permission.”

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