The View’s Sunny Hostin found herself at odds with her co-hosts this week during a fiery debate about the legality of Israel’s preemptive strikes on Iran.
Hostin, a former federal prosecutor, argued that Israel’s bombings violate international law and needed to be done ‘diplomatically.’
But co-hosts Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, and Joy Behar weren’t buying it, given Iran’s own heinous track record.
All three pointed out how Tehran is the world’s leading funder of terrorism, and that it does not play by the conventional rules of foreign policy.
‘Well, Iran’s launched tons of missiles against Israel in the last few years,’ Griffin said Wednesday.
‘That is fine, but you have to do that legally and under international criminal law,’ Hostin replied.
The remark led Behar to note: ‘I’m not sure Iran does things legally.’
Hostin continued to push back, but once the dust settled, she turned to the camera to assure viewers she was not anti-Semitic.
The View ‘s Sunny Hostin (left) found herself at odds with her co-hosts this week during a fiery debate about the legality of Israel’s strikes on Iran
Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, and Joy Behar did not appear to buy Hostin’s argument, given Iran’s own heinous track record
‘Under international law, Israel should not be preemptively striking another country,’ she explained. ‘We really need to have a bird’s-eye view of what’s going on.
‘If that’s okay for Israel to do, if that’s okay for our president to do, is that okay for another country to do to us?’ she added, leading Behar to point out the threat Iran poses to Israel.
‘Well think of it this way,’ Behar said. ‘What if Canada was saying – was going to build a nuclear bomb and they threatened to kill us all. What would we do?’
‘You have to do it diplomatically, Joy – you can’t just bomb a country,’ Hostin shot back.
‘What’s so diplomatic about having a nuclear bomb and threatening another country?’ Behar replied.
Hostin responded by saying Iran ‘doesn’t necessarily’ have nuclear weapons at this point.
‘No, but they’re building it,’ Behar declared.
‘Obama acknowledged that they were building,’ Griffin added.
‘You have to do it diplomatically, Joy – you can’t just bomb a country,’ Hostin (right) said sternly. ‘What’s so diplomatic about having a nuclear bomb and threatening another country?’ Behar (left) shot back
Hostin, however, continued to blame Trump for the conflict.
At this point Haines looked to have had enough and questioned how Hostin could defend the rights of the Iranian government given its funding of terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.
‘Israel has had a target on its back its entire existence from every terrorist organization known to man, and Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism,’ Haines argued.
‘Doesn’t mean you can proactively bomb a country,’ Hostin fired back.
‘I’m not going to defend the legal-ness of a terrorist nation that’s been funding people killing people for decades and say, well, they didn’t follow the rules,’ Haines continued. ‘They’ve never followed rules’.
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg stressed that such issues are why global organizations like the United Nations exist.
‘Which is why I recommend what’s going on right now because the US is not actively involved,’ Haines said.
Griffin pointed out that Iran has launched ballistic missile attacks on US forces in Iraq as recently as three years ago.
At one point, co-host Sara Haines (left) looked to have had enough and questioned how Hostin (right) could defend the rights of the Iranian government given its funding of terrorist organizations
‘They have attacked Israel, preemptively,’ the former Trump aide added. ‘They are a terrorist nation.’
Hostin went on to ask: ‘So, we should do what they do?’
Griffin asserted that it was up to the Iranian people to rid themselves of their regime.
‘Can I just say this so I don’t get a bunch of hate mail – criticism of the Israeli government is not anti-Semitic,’ Hostin concluded
‘I am criticizing Benjamin Netanyahu. I am criticizing Israel. I am not an anti-Semite. But, under international criminal law, what is happening now is not legal. That’s the line.’
