On Monday’s episode of The View, Sunny Hostin attempted to shift blame onto Israel and the victims of the attacks for provoking Hamas. During her interview with ABC foreign correspondent James Longman, who was reporting from the site of a destroyed building in Tel Aviv, Israel, Hostin asked about the timing and reasons behind the Hamas attack, seemingly aiming to put the blame on Israel’s government. Longman happily played along, mentioning the political turmoil in the country and the influence of the right-wing government, and suggesting that these factors contributed to the situation.
Throughout the week, the inappropriately nicknamed “Sunny” continued to hold her ground. She claimed that she was terrified at the level of “anger on the Israeli side,” suggested that Israeli was planning to kill the 2.2 million civilians in the Gaza Strip, and urged Israel to “show some restraint.”
Hostin blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for having the audacity to launch an offensive in retaliation against Hamas following their brutal attacks on Israel.
But she wasn’t done yet.
After acknowledging that she “understood” some of Israel’s “anger,” Hostin went on to claim that Palestinians did not elect Hamas (which they did in 2006), Israel was in violation of international law, and Israel was imposing collective punishment on Palestinians.
It was at this point that the other View hosts collectively came together in a rare display of decency and common sense.
Right-leaning co-host Ana Navarro criticized those, including Hostin, who advised Israel to exercise restraint when dealing with Hamas terrorists. She pointed out that historically, the world’s response has been to tell Israel to show restraint during conflicts in the region. However, she argued that it wasn’t appropriate to demand restraint from Israel when a significant number of their citizens had been killed in a brutal and inhumane manner. Navarro went on to reinforce that Hamas alone is responsible for the assault and Israel’s retaliation.
Alyssa Farah Griffin, another right-leaning co-host, criticized Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib for not condemning the killing of children. Griffin sadly noted the reports of babies being beheaded, commenting, “We are witnessing true evil.”
Co-host Sara Haines shared a change in perspective, stating that recent events in Israel had opened her eyes. She expressed doubts about the possibility of a two-state solution in the region because of Hamas, which governs Palestine. Haines pointed out that Hamas’s primary objective, as outlined in their charter, is to destroy Israel, and she emphasized that no matter what concessions are made to them, such as land, they persist in their goal to destroy Israel. She also denounced the Hamas practice of “using their own people as human shields.”
Whoopi Goldberg had a rare moment of level-headed commentary, noting, “Terrorist groups are terrorist groups. They are horrific. It doesn’t matter who leads it, it’s a horror. This is what they do. This is what they do and it’s always the people that are always paying the price. Always the innocent people paying the price.”
Even Joy Behar countered Sunny Hostin’s position by pointing out that the Israeli Defense Force made efforts to notify Gaza residents before striking. She emphasized that the Israelis provided warnings before acting, whereas this group Hamas did not give any warnings and carried out attacks on teenagers and children, comparing them to kids at a rock concert. Behar strongly criticized Hamas, calling them “monstrous people” for their actions, including the kidnapping of infants. Behar went so far as to call Tlaib “obnoxious” for refusing to denounce Hamas’ deplorable treatment of babies and children.
Of course, Behar’s rare moment of clarity quickly devolved into placing blame for the attacks on former-President Donald Trump. She suggested that a 2018 meeting between Trump and Putin was to discuss long-term plans to divert military aid from Ukraine in 2023 by putting Israel in a situation of desperate need.
Viewers should have anticipated Sunny Hostin’s position, as it aligns with Hamas’s narrative of Palestinian land being occupied by colonizers. Hostin, with a Puerto Rican mother and an African American father, frequently airs her perceived grievances and claims of oppression, even demanding reparations although she is a multimillionaire.
Sunny Hostin’s dismissal of Israel’s anger at being attacked is baffling, while Joy Behar’s knack for blaming Donald Trump, even in unrelated contexts, is predictable. Welcome to another week on The View.