Comedian John Oliver's recent monologue on Israel's alleged war crimes during Operation Guardian of the Walls has infuriated many pro-Israel supporters, calling him out for misrepresentations and inaccuracies.
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One of them is Daniel Leon, a serial entrepreneur who has recently relocated back to Israel after spending 20 years in the US. He is the co-founder and COO of Celsius, a financial service company.
In his now-viral rebuttal to Oliver's rant, Leon uses harsh language to dismantle the accusations leveled against Israel, one by one. Leon attacked Oliver and addressed him directly in his video message online, both on YouTube and on Facebook: "John ... you're violating whatever the 4th Geneva Convention of Comedy is. Time and time again yesterday you said that Palestinians are suffering more than the Israelis. 'Some things are pretty simple," you said. 'One side is suffering much more.' Wow. Some powerful analysis there, John."
Leon went on to suggest Oliver's point made no sense if you devoid it of its proper context and focus only on numbers.
"What does the amount of suffering have to do with the justice of a cause? The answer is: precisely nothing," Leon said, before explaining: "Some 5.3. million Nazi soldiers died in World War II, while a mere 384,000 British soldiers died. Now one side suffered much much more. Spoiler alert: the side that suffered more, a.k.a the Nazis, was also the side which was wrong."
He continued, lambasting Oliver for blaming Israel for having the upper edge militarily, as if that was somehow wrong, and claimed this was also irrelevant, as various terrorists have demonstrated in the past by fighting with asymmetrical warfare and caused many casualties with such means.
"You also pointed out another difference between Israel and the Palestinians. 'Both sides are firing rockets, but one side has one of the most advanced militaries in the world,' you said. Again, some pretty sophisticated analysis, coming from you. But it begs another question, John. What does the power have to do with being right or wrong? Doesn't seem like much, actually.
"The 9/11 hijackers had box cutters. Box cutters, John. America, on the other hand, had one of the most advanced militaries in the world. Do we wish that the fight was fair, and Mohamed Atta had some long-range missiles in addition to box cutters? Would it be better if Hamas, a terrorist organization that calls for genocide of all Jews had advanced weaponry? I don't know about you, but that does not seem like a great idea.
"John, you also claimed that 'when Israel fires rockets at Gaza it endangers all Palestinians there.' I wonder why that might be. Think with me here. Is it possible it has something to do with the fact that Hamas hides behind innocent Palestinians while firing at Israel? Now, don't take my word for it, I'm Israeli, but Hamas interior minister, Fathi Hamad, bragged that Palestinian women and children make the best human shields. I guess that's also why Hamas put its headquarters in the last war in the Shifa hospital."
Leon explained to Oliver that since he has not "spent time in combat" he might not be aware that "it's really hard not to hit civilians when the terrorists you're fighting are headquartered in a hospital."
Leon provided "a recommendation" for Oliver that his next guest on his show should be the deputy speaker of the parliament in Gaza because then he can "ask him what he meant when he said: 'Allah, take hold of the Jews and their allies. Allah, take hold of the Americans and their allies. Count them and kill them to the last one. Don't leave even one.'"
Finally, Leon offered a reconciliatory note, saying he was only challenging the merits of Oliver's monologue, not discounting his intellect and capabilities. "It may sound like I am disagreeing with you John. But actually, I am not. You got one very important thing right. There is no symmetry. No symmetry between Israel and Hamas. Israel is a democracy, Hamas are dictators. Israel protects the rights of gays, women, and minorities. Hamas kills and represses them. Israel calls for peace with its neighbors. Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel. John, you are extremely talented. I loved you as Dick Pants in Love Guru. It's just that usually your comedy is intentional. What you said about Israel yesterday was laughable but for all the wrong reasons. So keep reading, John. Keep listening. Keep searching. I have no doubt that a smart guy like yourself will eventually figure things out."
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