Bill Maher with guests on his HBO show 'Real Time.' Photo: Screenshot.

HBO Real Time host Bill Maher said on Friday that Israel is unfairly held to a different standard than other countries, what he termed “the soft bigotry of high expectations.”

Commenting on Israel’s restraint in Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, Maher said, “If the Hamas people had the opportunity, they would kill the maximum number of Israelis, which would be all. And Israel has the opportunity to kill way more and they do not.  It seems like they are the victim of the soft bigotry of high expectations.”

Maher also made it clear as to who he blames for civilian deaths in Gaza. He said, “I feel terrible for a Palestinian child who dies, but if it’s your father, your brother, your uncle who is firing those rockets into Israel, who’s fault is it really? Do you really expect the Israelis not to retaliate?”

The comment drew applause from Maher’s studio audience and had him agreeing with one of his guests Jamie Weinstein, senior editor of The Daily Caller. Weinstein said that Hamas extremists make it their mission to destroy Israel regardless of the country’s actions.

“I don’t think you can understand the conflict without reading Hamas’s charter, upon which they were founded, which clearly calls — and it’s chilling — calls for not only the destruction of Israel but the murder of Jews generally,” Weinsten explained.

Maher also asserted that he believes Israel “wins all the time” in wars and has been effective at defending itself in part because of its focus on scientific advancements.

“Jews have, I think, 155 Nobel Prizes and Muslims have two,” he said. “Maybe it’s who you know but that seems like kind of a big advantage for team Hebrew.”

Maher was criticized on Thursday for a Twitter post about the Middle East conflict that some condemned for its mockery of domestic violence.

“Dealing w/ Hamas is like dealing w/ a crazy woman who’s trying to kill u – u can only hold her wrists so long before you have to slap her,” his post read.

Watch Bill Maher talk about the Israel-Gaza conflict in the video below: