John Oliver targeted Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in a fiery episode of his HBO show Last Week Tonight.
The host joked that Netanyahu was the “original source material for Mr Potato Head” as well as being the leader of the country on and off since 1996, making him their longest serving prime minister.
He has repeatedly claimed he is “the only person capable of keeping Israel safe” and has tried to market himself as “a big strong guy who won’t let Israel get pushed around”.
But Oliver said he has also been in charge of the “longest and deadliest war in Israel’s history” and one that is “not currently that popular in Israel” with polls showing he would lose an election if held today.
He said that Netanyahu is “a man so singularly focused on remaining in power, he’s allied with the most extreme voices in his country”.
He then detailed a brief history, explaining his formative years in the US before he went into international diplomacy back home and then politics.
Oliver said he publicly “went scorched Earth” on rival Yitzhak Rabin who was then assassinated, something his wife blamed on Netanyahu on television.
He has long promised that he can bring the US along with whatever he does, claiming that America can be easily pushed. “Even if that is true, it’s insulting to hear out loud,” he said.
During Donald Trump’s first term, Netanyahu had him help push the Abraham Accords which would freeze the Palestinians out. “Of course it was a fuck you to the Palestinians,” Oliver said, joking that if Netanyahu “could pour a bowl of cereal in a way that would meaningfully make conditions in Gaza worse, he would do that”.
His career has been increasingly “defined by attempts to cling to power” despite allegations of corruption, bribery and fraud.
Oliver also spoke about his wife, Sara, known as “Israel’s Marie Antoinette” for her indulgent lifestyle and alleged abusive behaviour toward household staff.
He said that the “drumbeat of scandals led more centrist parties in Israel to decide they wouldn’t form a coalition with him” so he had to go further to the right with extreme voices.
One of them is Ben Gvir, who has been referred to as “the David Duke of Israel”, which Oliver said is “like calling someone the JK Rowling of trans people”.
Another is Bezalel Smotrich, a proud homophobe and “willful provocateur” who has said there’s no such thing as the Palestinian people.
He called them both “absolute nightmares central to Netanyahu’s coalition” and that the prime minister is “committed to delivering for his extremist partners”.
Oliver then got to what happened on 7 October with the Hamas attack. “No one would say Netanyahu personally caused 7 October but he has definitely ensured that what’s come after has caused exponentially more suffering that might otherwise have been the case,” he said.
He spoke about how Netanyahu had strategically tried to keep Hamas in power so he could more easily target a divided Palestinian government and has blown off a warning from Israel’s security chief about an attack.
What has happened since has been termed a genocide by major organisations and the international criminal court has issued arrest warrants charging Netanyahu and his circle with war crimes. Oliver said Netanyahu is “personally responsible for keeping this war going” after breaking a ceasefire in March and caving to far-right ministers.
Oliver said it’s “impossible to overstate the death and suffering Netanyahu’s decisions have caused” reminding his audience that over 65,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Oliver added that what is happening is “all truly horrifying” and also referenced Israel’s attack on Iran, a decision that even annoyed Trump. Netanyahu then went on Fox News to nominate the US president for a Nobel peace prize.
Oliver said it is “very clear that Netanyahu is desperate to stay in power and will do whatever it takes”.
His popularity has been waning with many Israelis “understandably furious” and only 21% of Americans supporting him. “I think people have seen a little too much at this point,” Oliver said.
Oliver added: “Israelis removing this fucking guy from power might at the very least bring a stop to the horrific suffering in Gaza and bring the hostages home.”
