Whoopi Goldberg Questioning Taliban, Hamas Terrorist Status Sparks Anger

Whoopi Goldberg stirred up controversy Tuesday when she seemingly questioned if the Taliban and Hamas are considered terrorist groups by everyone. Her comments have since resulted in angry messages on social media.

During Tuesday's episode of The View, Goldberg's co-host Sunny Hostin discussed what she called constant "attacks" by GOP Representative Kevin McCarthy on Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar. At one point, Hostin said Omar has not made remarks about the U.S. and Israel in relation to Afghanistan and Hamas since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked her to apologize for a 2019 tweet that criticized pro-Israel lobbying.

Sara Haines, another member of The View's panel, interjected and said Omar compared the U.S. and Israel to the Taliban and Hamas last year.

"She has maybe way more knowledge and experience in the very complicated Middle Eastern relations," Haines said. "But I did find that being on a foreign committee and comparing the country to a terrorist, known terrorists, those are organized terrorist communities. Not Israel, but Hamas and the Taliban..."

"Depends on who you talk to," Goldberg said.

Hostin agreed with Goldberg's remark questioning Haines' "organized terrorist communities" characterization, which has since resulted in tweets that questioned Goldberg's line of thinking.

"Who would you like to ask?" wrote one Twitter user. "Terrorist Sympathizers?"

Andrew Ghalili, a senior policy analyst at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, tweeted a similar message, writing that people who disagree about the label being applied to Hamas and the Taliban "are terrorist-sympathizing bigots."

The U.S. Department of State classifies Hamas—a militant group and prominent Palestinian political party—as a designated terrorist organization. The Taliban are not listed as such by the State Department, but they have long been accused of violent acts that many people have characterized as falling under the definition of terrorism.

"Figures Whoopi would say that, but she would never vacation in a Hamas/Taliban ruled area and feel safe and welcomed," read another tweet. "If she went to Israel she would get treated with respect and feel safe."

Goldberg is well known for being outspoken, and her opinions have landed her in controversy at times. Earlier this year, she was suspended briefly from The View for saying the Holocaust was not about race but rather "two groups of white people." In that incident, ABC News said Goldberg would take a break from the show for two weeks to "take time to reflect and learn" from her comments.

Newsweek reached out to The View for comment.