Veteran White House Reported Criticized And Resigns
Veteran journalist Helen Thomas started covering the White House during the Kennedy administration and now reigns as the doyen of the Press Corps. Its longest serving member in history: she gets to sit next to the president during the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, is the leader of the Press Corps, gets to ask the first question during daily press briefings and is often deferred to. She's even been the focus of an HBO documentary titled "Thank You Mr. President." In her recent years, Helen has become political outspoken. She is a noted critic of the Iraq War and has made her duty to be a forceful questioner of America's wars abroad, neo-imperialism and support for Israel. She is also a defender of the Palestinians and does not mince words. She recently called for Israelis to "get the hell out of Palestine". (Memo: Because this video was edited by a pro-Israel group, ignore the silly and vapid editorializing that seeks to shamelessly exploit the Holocaust in order to give ignoble sanction for the Jewish state to engage in the theft and occupation of Palestinian land and the killing of Palestinians and their supporters. Zionists believe that because the Jews suffered the innocent Palestinians, who did nothing to the Jews, should be maliciously mistreated and theJewish state should be allowed to do whatever it wants and get away with it.) Thomas' comments have been interpreted as anti-Semitic. That is a matter of judgement. If one conflated anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, then one can conclude that. Or one may agree with Helen that Palestine is all occupied by Israelis who have immigrated to the occupied lands and have caused great suffering and mayhem and should "get the hell out". It is not surprising that in America there isn't even an effort to understand Thomas' comments. Former Bush spokesman Ari Flescher - a dual Israeli-American national - has called on Helen to be fired from the White House Press Corps. And Obama's spokesman has also criticized Thomas: White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today that Thomas's comments about Israel were "offensive and reprehensible. " During his press briefing this morning, which Thomas did not attend, Gibbs said that though he hasn't spoken with Obama about the her comments, they "do not reflect" the view of his administration. He added, "she should, and has apologized." Perhaps due to the controversy, Thomas has announced her resignation: Helen Thomas announced Monday that she is retiring, effective immediately. Her decision came after her controversial comments about Israel and the Palestinians were captured on videotape and widely disseminated on the Internet. Thomas later issued a statement: ``I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.'' Thomas will mark her 90th birthday on Aug. 4. I believe Helen resigned just because she got sick of it and all. The whole shame political culture that exists today is worlds away from the one she started in when people could have meaningful discourse and one could actually criticize Israel freely. She's just tired of it and has decided that now is the time to leave and spend her remaining years in peace. Read more: http://marcovilla. instablogs. com/entry/ veteran-white- house-reported- criticized- and-resigns/ #ixzz0qBymTm3r ------------ --------- --------- --------- ------ Veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas retires after Israel remarks June 7, 2010 | 9:54 am Helen Thomas, the legendary White House reporter who broke down barriers against female journalists covering politics, will retire after controversial remarks criticized by many as anti-Israel. Hearst News Service, her latest employer, on Monday announced the immediate retirement of Thomas, who will be 90 in August. Thomas told a rabbi at a White House event last week that Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine" and go back to Germany and Poland or the United States. Her comments were caught on videotape and widely distributed. The remarks caused a furor even though she immediately apologized. Her invitation to speak at a local graduation was rescinded. Jewish groups called her remarks ignorant and insensitive and said her apology did not go far enough. "I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians, " Thomas said in a statement. "They do not reflect my heartfelt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon." At his daily briefing, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on Monday condemned the comments, calling them "offensive and reprehensible. " "She should and has apologized," Gibbs said. "Obviously, those remarks do not reflect, certainly, the opinion of most of the people here and certainly not of the administration. " Working for United Press International, Thomas covered every president since the end of the Eisenhower years and was known for her tough questioning. She was the first woman to be an officer of the National Press Club, the first female member and president of the White House Correspondents' Assn. She has written five books. -- Michael Muskal twitter.com/ LATimesmuskal Photo: Helen Thomas asks a question of President Obama on May 27, 2010. Credit: Alex Wong / Getty Images http://latimesblogs .latimes. com/dcnow/ 2010/06/white- house-critisizes -veteran- reporter. html [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
