Editing Gene Simmons (section)

== Personal views and politics ==
===US electoral politics===
Simmons was a supporter of the [[foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration]].<ref>[http://www.genesimmons.com/news/082004.html News] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121208202854/http://www.genesimmons.com/news/082004.html |date=December 8, 2012 }}. GeneSimmons.com. Retrieved February 1, 2011.</ref> He supported the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], writing on his website: "I'm ashamed to be surrounded by people calling themselves liberal who are, in my opinion, spitting on the graves of brave American soldiers who gave their life to fight a war that wasn't theirs... in a country they've never been to... simply to liberate the people therein".<ref name=iraq>[http://www.genesimmons.com/news/042003.html News] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121208143302/http://www.genesimmons.com/news/042003.html |date=December 8, 2012 }}. GeneSimmons.com. Retrieved February 1, 2011.</ref> In a follow-up, Simmons explained his position and wrote about his love and support for the United States: "I wasn't born here. But I have a love for this country and its people that knows no bounds. I will forever be grateful to America for going into [[World War II]], when it had nothing to gain, in a country that was far away... and rescued my mother from the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi German]] [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]]. She is alive and I am alive because of America. And, if you have a problem with America, you have a problem with me".<ref name=iraq/>

In 2010, Simmons said he regretted voting for [[Barack Obama]] and criticized the [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act|2009 health care reforms]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/click/stories/1012/gene_simmons_knocks_obama.html|work=[[Politico]]|first=Patrick|last=Gavin|access-date=December 6, 2010|date=December 6, 2010|title=Gene Simmons Knocks President Obama}}</ref> Following Obama's 2011 speech on the Middle East in which he called on Israel and the Palestinians to negotiate a settlement "based on the [[Six-Day War|1967 lines]] with mutually agreed swaps",<ref>[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/05/19/remarks-president-middle-east-and-north-africa Remarks by the President on the Middle East and North Africa], Barack Obama, ''[[The White House]]'', May 19, 2011</ref> Simmons told [[CNBC]] that Obama was gravely misguided. "If you have never been to the moon, you can't issue policy about the moon. For the president to be sitting in Washington D.C. and saying, 'Go back to your '67 borders in Israel' – how about you live there and try to defend an indefensible border – nine miles (14 km) wide?" Simmons also accused the [[United Nations]] of being "the most pathetic body on the face of the earth".<ref>{{cite news|last=Ben Gedalyahu|first=Tzvi|title=Video of Rock Star Gene Simmons: Obama Doesn't Have a Clue|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/144384|access-date=June 1, 2011|newspaper=[[Arutz Sheva|Israel National News]]|date=May 22, 2011}}</ref>

In an April 2012 interview, Simmons endorsed Republican [[Mitt Romney]] for President: "America should be in business and it should be run by a businessman."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediaite.com/tv/kiss-frontman-gene-simmons-voices-support-for-mitt-romney-regrets-voting-for-obama-in-08/ |title=Kiss Frontman Gene Simmons Voices Support For Mitt Romney, Regrets Voting For Obama In '08 |website=[[Mediaite]] |date=April 3, 2012 |access-date=April 25, 2012}}</ref>

In an August 2021 interview, regarding the honesty of [[Donald Trump]] and his [[First presidency of Donald Trump|presidential administration]], Simmons said, "[W]e all lie to some extent, but what happened the last four years was beyond anything I ever thought imaginable from people who had lots of power — not just him, but the administration, everybody."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/gene-simmons-on-donald-trump-presidency-it-was-beyond-anything-i-ever-thought-imaginable/|title=GENE SIMMONS on DONALD TRUMP Presidency: It Was 'Beyond Anything I Ever Thought Imaginable'|website=[[Blabbermouth.net]]|date=August 12, 2021}}</ref>

On November 10, 2021, he stated that people who refused to get the [[COVID-19 vaccine]] are "an enemy" and called them "evil".<ref>{{cite web|first=Mike|last=Stunson|url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article255740661.html|title='You are an enemy.' Gene Simmons of KISS slams 'evil people' who refuse COVID vaccine|website=[[Miami Herald]]|date=November 21, 2021|access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>

===Views on Israel===
In March 2011, Simmons visited his birth country, Israel. He described the trip as a "life changing experience". He talked about how he still feels that he is an Israeli: "I'm Israeli. I'm a stranger in America. I'm an outsider".<ref>{{cite web |last=Federman |first=Josef |title=AP Interview: Simmons blasts Israel boycotters |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110322/ap_en_mu/ml_israel_people_gene_simmons |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110326171849/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110322/ap_en_mu/ml_israel_people_gene_simmons |archive-date=March 26, 2011 |publisher=[[Yahoo! News]]}}</ref> While there, Simmons met his half-brother Kobi, and triplet half-sisters Drora, Sharon and Ogenia.<ref>{{cite web |author=Late Night Rocker |date=March 31, 2011 |title=Kiss Mask Webzine: Meet Gene Simmons' Brother and Sisters |url=http://kissmaskwebzine.blogspot.com/2011/03/meet-gene-simmons-brother-and-sisters.html |access-date=August 10, 2011 |publisher=Kissmaskwebzine.blogspot.com}}</ref> He also visited his estranged father's grave.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-06-29 |title=Gene Simmons cries, shares regret at father's grave |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/gene-simmons-cries-shares-regret-fathers-grave-1c9380723 |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=TODAY.com |language=en}}</ref> Simmons announced he has plans to take Kiss to Israel, something that happened first in 2015 with a concert in [[Tel Aviv]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=KISS in Tel Aviv, Israel. Summer 2015 |url=https://www.touristisrael.com/kiss-tel-aviv-israel/14103/}}</ref> He has said that he is an ardent supporter of Israel.<ref>{{cite web |last=Brinn |first=David |date=March 23, 2011 |title=Kiss rocker Gene Simmons back in Israel after 51 years |url=http://www.jpost.com/VideoArticles/Video/Article.aspx?id=213425 |access-date=August 10, 2011 |work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref> At a press conference in Israel, he spoke in both [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and English.<ref>{{YouTube|FhnTbJNH0Wo|Gene Simmons in Israel / ג'ין סימונס בישראל}}</ref> During his visit to Israel in 2011, he also stated that the artists refusing to perform in Israel for political reasons are "stupid".<ref>{{cite news |date=March 23, 2011 |title=ג'ין סימונס: "היוצרים מחרימי ישראל – טיפשים" |url=http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4046360,00.html |access-date=March 23, 2011 |agency=[[YNet]]}}</ref>

During the [[2006 Lebanon War]] between [[Israel]] and [[Hezbollah]] in Lebanon, Simmons sent a televised message of support (in both English and Hebrew) to an Israeli soldier seriously wounded in fighting in [[Lebanon]], calling him his "hero".<ref>{{cite news |date=August 26, 2006 |title=Gene Simmons hails Israeli soldier |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/26/AR2006082600502.html |access-date=May 12, 2010 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref>

On November 6, 2015, he attended a [[Friends of the Israel Defense Forces]] gala in Beverly Hills, which raised more than $31 million.<ref>{{cite web |date=November 7, 2015 |title=IN PICTURES: Star-studded LA fundraiser rakes in $31 million for IDF |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Star-studded-LA-fundraiser-rakes-in-31-million-for-IDF-432285 |access-date=July 1, 2017 |website=[[Jerusalem Post]]}}</ref>

=== Views on Islam ===
In a 2004 interview in [[Melbourne]], Australia, regarding [[Islamic extremism|Islamic extremists]], Simmons described [[Islam]] as a "vile culture", saying that Muslim women had to walk behind their husbands and were not allowed to be educated or to own houses. He said: "They want to come and live right where you live and they think that you're evil." Muslim media personality [[Susan Carland]] argued that Simmons's stereotyping of Muslims was inaccurate.<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/14/1084289868279.html "Outrage as KISS player mouths off on Muslims"]. ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'', May 14, 2004</ref> Simmons later clarified his comments on his website, saying he had been talking specifically about Muslim extremists.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 28, 2004 |title=Gene Simmons clarifies Muslim remarks |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/gene-simmons-clarifies-muslim-remarks-wbna5086233 |access-date=July 21, 2021 |website=Today.com}}</ref>