Battle in Hollywood over the Israel-Hamas conflict

Bernie Goldberg on stars facing Hollywood backlash in war of words over Israel

This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," August 7, 2014. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

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O'REILLY: Thanks for staying with us. I'm Bill O'Reilly.

In the "Weekdays with Bernie" segment tonight, battle in Hollywood over the Israel-Hamas conflict.

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Spanish movie stars, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, who are married, signed a paper condemning Israel's conduct in the fight.

Meantime, in Hollywood, some prominent Jewish celebrities have remained silent on the issue thus far even though there are reports some kind of statement is being worked on.

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Also, the national media in the U.S.A. covering the story in many different ways. And joining us now from North Carolina, purveyor of BernardGoldberg.com, Mr. Goldberg.

Mr. Goldberg, let's get to the media coverage of it.

BERNIE GOLDBERG, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: OK.

O'REILLY: Israel-Hamas, has it been fair generally speaking.

GOLDBERG: Here's what the problem with the coverage is -- video is a very powerful force, Bill, very powerful, especially --

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-- when it's showing death and destruction. And, in this case, video doesn't do nuance very well. It doesn't do context very well.

So, video shows dead babies and rubble, but it doesn't explain the fundamental truth that one side wants --

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-- to live in peace and The other side wants to kill as many Israelis and Jews as possible. Video does "a guy used to live in this house and, now, the house is destroyed."

It does that very well but it doesn't explain very well why did the Israelis shoot their missile at that house, OK. So, in that sense, in answer to your question, no, the coverage hasn't been fair.

But that's because of the power of video and the fact that a lot of reporters are liberal and they tend to root for the underdog.

The second point I'd like to make is that I wonder how the people covering this particular was would have covered Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the fire bombing of Dresden in Germany.

A lot of civilians were killed there, too. But I don't think reporters back then were all that concerned about the disproportion -- disproportionate number of deaths.

I don't think they were saying, "Ten thousand Germans were killed today but only 17 Americans were killed." Because they understood that one side started the war and we didn't start the war.

In this case, Hamas started the war. Israel didn't start the war. And I don't want to sound cavalier or insensitive but, when you start a war, I'm sorry, bad things are going to happen.

O'REILLY: Right, but there has always been tension in the liberal community --

GOLDBERG: Yes.

O'REILLY: -- and that brings us to the Hollywood thing because --

GOLDBERG: Right.

O'REILLY: -- as you said -- you know, look, the Palestinian people are devastated, all right. They're being held hostage by Hamas.

Hamas got the guns, guns come Iran. The Palestinian people don't have jobs, they don't have anything.

They can't stand up against Hamas, so Hamas controls. So, you've got to feel sorry for the Palestinians to some extent.

GOLDBERG: Absolutely.

O'REILLY: And I do, and I think you do, too, all right.

GOLDBERG: I do.

O'REILLY: Jewish people, all they want to do, as you said, is be left alone. They've made some mistakes in settlements but, you know, everybody makes mistakes.

But it's a complicated issue that goes back thousands of years. And most people don't understand what the hell it is. But, in Hollywood, --

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-- they've been largely silent. The only guy that spoken up is John Voight. He's not Jewish.

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GOLDBERG: Right.

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O'REILLY: I mean, the only guy. Everybody else like Spielberg and -- Streisand has got an opinion about everything.

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Where is she, you know. So, what's going on there.

GOLDBERG: I think -- let me fill you in on something that you may not understand --

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-- but I think this is a field in which I'm something of an expert. Many, not all -- I want to make that clear -- maybe not even most, but many liberal Jews in Hollywood are liberals first and Jews second.

The religion is Liberalism, OK. That's an important point. Now, they know that Hamas started this.

They know that Hamas wants to kill everybody in Israel. And if Hamas --

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-- could get away with it, kill every Jew in Hollywood. They know that. So, that's on the one hand. On the other hand, they're liberals.

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They're moved by the images, the pictures that they see, as we all are. So, there's a bit of being torn here. And I think, part of it maybe -- and we'll see what the statement that may be coming out says -- but I think part of it maybe there's ancient slander that all the Jews stick together.

If Spielberg and a bunch of others speak up against Hamas, against the people that started this, you know that people out there -- you know, Israel-haters or Jew-haters are going to say, "Oh, there they go again. The Jews are all sticking together against those poor Palestinians."

And I think, for that reason, the Jewish population in Hollywood sort of wants to keep hands off for as long as they can.

O'REILLY: All right. But, you know, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, I think they hurt themselves by doing what they did. But we'll see.

Bernie Goldberg, everybody

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