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  1. #1
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    Old-timer Helen Thomas resigns after anti-Jewish comment

    By Howard Kurtz
    Washington Post Staff Writer
    Tuesday, June 8, 2010

    Helen Thomas ended a storied career at the White House dating from the Kennedy era on Monday, days after making inflammatory remarks on Israel to a rabbi.

    "Frankly, I was shocked," said Rabbi David Nesenoff, who was at the White House for a Jewish heritage celebration on May 27 and simply asked the Hearst Newspapers columnist, "Any comments on Israel?" Her response -- that Israeli Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine" and "go home" to Germany, Poland and America -- triggered a wave of denunciations that a narrowly worded apology did little to quell.

    "This was vile, a paradigm of hate talk," said Nesenoff, who was accompanied by his 17-year-old son and a friend. "She felt comfortable saying this in front of two boys with yarmulkes on."

    While the 89-year-old Thomas is renowned as a trailblazer who aggressively questioned 10 presidents -- including President Obama, whom she pressed last month on Afghanistan -- her hostility toward Israel has been no secret within the Beltway. Though she gave up her correspondent's job a decade ago, she retained her front-row briefing-room seat, even as colleagues sometimes rolled their eyes at her obvious biases.

    "She asked questions no hard-news reporter would ask, that carried an agenda and reflected her point of view, and there were some reporters who felt that was inappropriate," said CBS correspondent Mark Knoller. "As a columnist she felt totally unbound from any of the normal policies of objectivity that every other reporter in the room felt compelled to abide by, and sometimes her questions were embarrassing to other reporters."

    But few called her out for such conduct -- until Nesenoff, who heads a Long Island synagogue, posted the video on his site RabbiLIVE.com. Commentators on the right and left quickly eviscerated Thomas.

    "She's always said crazy stuff," said National Review Online columnist Jonah Goldberg. "One reason she gets a pass is that there's an entrenched system of deference to seniority in the White House press corps. . . . This newfound horror and dismay that people are expressing about Helen Thomas are beyond a day late and a dollar short."

    Jeffrey Goldberg, an Atlantic reporter who specializes in the Middle East said: "Helen Thomas offered the official Hamas position, as far as I can tell. There's a level of insensitivity that's almost comical in what she said, to tell Jews to go back to Germany, where things worked out so well for them."

    Thomas told a Washington Post reporter Friday night that she was "very sorry" and had "made a mistake," but did not address the substance of her comments. By Monday morning -- after her agent had dropped her, Hearst expressed deep regret over her remarks and White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called them "offensive and reprehensible" -- she decided to call it quits. Thomas, the daughter of Lebanese immigrants, said in a statement that her comments "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."

    She is the most famous woman ever to cover 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and served as the first female president of the White House Correspondents' Association, which on Monday called her comments "indefensible." Thomas has written several books about the White House and played herself in the movies "Dave" (1993) and "The American President" (1995).

    In 2000, when Thomas resigned from United Press International after it was bought by News World Communications, a company controlled by officials of the Unification Church, Dan Rather called her "a hero of journalism."

    During George W. Bush's administration, Thomas became an icon for some liberals who applauded her outspoken opposition to the Iraq invasion and cast her as tougher than the reporters who failed to skeptically question the march to war. Ari Fleischer, who was Bush's first press secretary, led the campaign for her ouster over the weekend, e-mailing journalists who might have missed her remarks.



    washingtonpost.com

  2. #2
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    Yeh, that was a dumb comment. She should have just said for Israeli's to get the hell out of Palestine and go back to Israel.

  3. #3
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    agree

  4. #4
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    I believe the woman has partial age related dementia. This isn't the first "shocking" statement. Now that the stories are coming out about her other comments, some of which were more offensive, other journalists are saying she was tolerated out of respect for her length of service, but most everyone knew some of the cards in her deck had gotten lost along the way.

    As dementia sets in, those afflicted are unable to manage their social "filters" and say things that they would not say otherwise. Do not judge her too harshly as I don't think she has full control of her mental faculties.
    Kindness is spaying and neutering one's companion animals.

  5. #5
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    ^I tend to agree. On the other hand, however, some older people just figure they can say any damn thing they want just because they are old. In her case, and given her seniority, I would guess it was a bit of both.

  6. #6
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    Stupid or dementia. She was sacraficed on the altar of politically correct.

    Sad, I enjoyed that face amongst all those pretty people.

    I'm sure Poland and Germany would be overjoyed to have them back.

  7. #7
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    for many years thomas was a reporter for UPI, but resigned after the moonies bought it. for the last eight years she was a columnist for hearst and therefore was fully entitled to express her opinions on issues in the news....not sure why she was still sitting in on daily WH press briefings.

    and BTW, she was right.

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    why does she not want the roughly 50% of Israeli Jews that have their origins in the Middle East and North Africa with not the slightest connection to Europe or North America to leave Israel too?

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by phomsanuk View Post
    Stupid or dementia. She was sacraficed on the altar of politically correct.
    Sadly, you're right -- what followed was a veritable kosher feeding frenzy, with nearly everyone with a Jewish name coming out of the woodwork to crucify her - in the name of tolerance and understanding, no less, I'm sure.

    Sure, what she said was tactless, and out of order, particularly to a rabbi, but some of the comments making her out as the veritable 'indefensible' anti-christ are ridiculous, especially who they are coming from.

    I neither like Helen Thomas, nor do I particularly care for what Israel does - she was being stupid for what she said, but everyone else completely blew it out of proportions. The proper thing to do was to smile at the crazy old lady, and move on.

    On the other hand, nice to see Ari Fleischer get her back for 5 years of being her whipping boy.

  10. #10
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    I thought it was mostly former Soviet citizens in recent decades anyway?

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    Quote Originally Posted by phomsanuk View Post
    Stupid or dementia. She was sacraficed on the altar of politically correct.
    Considering the setting and occasion, her comments were probably beyond PC and probably inappropriate. The OTT sensitivities and istitutionalised conditioning, particularly within the Anglo/American communities, have become quite ridiculous. Any such references {good, bad, or indifferent} regarding Jewish or Israel become scrutiny for every sorted apologist and defence. Subliminally engineered socially.

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    She held a priority position in the press conference heirarchy due to her longevity rather than her brilliance. She was a thorn in the side of Republican White House press honchos. Senility finally did her in.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Humbert View Post
    She held a priority position in the press conference heirarchy due to her longevity rather than her brilliance. She was a thorn in the side of Republican White House press honchos. Senility finally did her in.
    Perhaps not senility, but instead she speaks of what most might have in their hearts. One doesn't want to speak harshly of the U.S.'s wayward child.....regardless of it's behaviour. Taboo.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by zygote1
    I believe the woman has partial age related dementia.
    Quote Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton
    I tend to agree.
    i have a quick question for dr. zygote and dr. knowlton....when did you last perform a medical examination on helen thomas?

    because what kind of physician would make a medical diagnosis without performing an examination of the patient.

    what's that you say....you're not physicians?

    oh....well......i see.
    Last edited by raycarey; 08-06-2010 at 06:37 PM.

  15. #15
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    Miss Thomas made alot of reporters cringe. There are plenty of arab american journalists that are tough on Israel, but they do it with professionalism. CBS' Fouad Ajami has ripped into Israeli political policy, but he has also been fair about it. Anthony Shadid was wounded while covering the west bank violence and reports for the Washington Post and is no friend of Israel's, but he has tried to be a good reporter His tough articles are not filled with blind hatred. Neither of these guys had much use for Helen Thomas. Unfortunately, no one has talked to them.

    Watching the newsfeeds from the major American networks last night, it seems that alot of the WH correspondents were making comments along the lines of, well its not the first time etc., she's said far worse. In previous times, she was downright nasty to the various Presidents of the USA. I am no fan of the last Pres. Bush, but she didn't need to be fo f**king rude and disrespectful. Nor did she need to level malicious accusations at Pres. Obama, pretending it was a question.

    What some see is only her public personna. The reality is that she was a diva, with a major attitude long before this episode. Go back 25 years when she was a miserable c**t. He age related behavioural changes have brought out the worst of her cranky disposition.

  16. #16
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    Really only one question ; What took so long?

    The old hag was about 30 years beyond her prime.

    Nevertheless Shepard Smith, reporting on her self induced demise, was almost in tears - equating her to Mother Theresa.

    Of course if you are a left wing zealot you are welcome in the Washington Press Corps.

    Dumb bitch just proves if you place a loaded revolver in your mouth & pull the trigger "shit happens". Good Riddance. lib/progressive trash.
    Barack Hussein Obama lying polecat. Libs Only Comply With Laws They Agree With.

  17. #17
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    So, she is piss tired with Israel.

    I just called in to say, that she is not alone,

    (feels good not to be PC for once )

  18. #18
    Pronce. PH said so AGAIN!
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    Fock me, this place really is becoming thaivisa.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by dotcom View Post
    Really only one question ; What took so long?

    The old hag was about 30 years beyond her prime.

    Nevertheless Shepard Smith, reporting on her self induced demise, was almost in tears - equating her to Mother Theresa.

    Of course if you are a left wing zealot you are welcome in the Washington Press Corps.

    Dumb bitch just proves if you place a loaded revolver in your mouth & pull the trigger "shit happens". Good Riddance. lib/progressive trash.
    Yes could not have been stated better.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by helge View Post
    So, she is piss tired with Israel.

    I just called in to say, that she is not alone,

    (feels good not to be PC for once )
    That's how I see it. Being tethered to subjectivity all those years becomes a phat pimple that wants to be squeezed.

    Her mentioning Poland, Germany, and the US was a bit much. Go back to Israel and leave the Palestinians be would have been enough.

    I've often wondered about senility. I doubt shrinks really have a firm handle of what it is. More obvious is reverting to childhood when you're past old age. I bet she said it because she always wanted to say it. Simple as that. It wasn't childish at all.

  21. #21
    Thailand Expat Boon Mee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by NPW View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by dotcom View Post
    Really only one question ; What took so long?

    The old hag was about 30 years beyond her prime.

    Nevertheless Shepard Smith, reporting on her self induced demise, was almost in tears - equating her to Mother Theresa.

    Of course if you are a left wing zealot you are welcome in the Washington Press Corps.

    Dumb bitch just proves if you place a loaded revolver in your mouth & pull the trigger "shit happens". Good Riddance. lib/progressive trash.
    Yes could not have been stated better.
    Got that right. Nasy old Liberal / Progressive Bitch...

  22. #22
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    So Judaism and Republicanism seem to go hand in hand. That's nice.

  23. #23
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    Exclamation she has been brain

    Quote Originally Posted by Camel Toe View Post
    By Howard Kurtz
    Washington Post Staff Writer
    Tuesday, June 8, 2010

    Helen Thomas ended a storied career at the White House dating from the Kennedy era on Monday, days after making inflammatory remarks on Israel to a rabbi.

    "Frankly, I was shocked," said Rabbi David Nesenoff, who was at the White House for a Jewish heritage celebration on May 27 and simply asked the Hearst Newspapers columnist, "Any comments on Israel?" Her response -- that Israeli Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine" and "go home" to Germany, Poland and America -- triggered a wave of denunciations that a narrowly worded apology did little to quell.

    "This was vile, a paradigm of hate talk," said Nesenoff, who was accompanied by his 17-year-old son and a friend. "She felt comfortable saying this in front of two boys with yarmulkes on."

    While the 89-year-old Thomas is renowned as a trailblazer who aggressively questioned 10 presidents -- including President Obama, whom she pressed last month on Afghanistan -- her hostility toward Israel has been no secret within the Beltway. Though she gave up her correspondent's job a decade ago, she retained her front-row briefing-room seat, even as colleagues sometimes rolled their eyes at her obvious biases.

    "She asked questions no hard-news reporter would ask, that carried an agenda and reflected her point of view, and there were some reporters who felt that was inappropriate," said CBS correspondent Mark Knoller. "As a columnist she felt totally unbound from any of the normal policies of objectivity that every other reporter in the room felt compelled to abide by, and sometimes her questions were embarrassing to other reporters."

    But few called her out for such conduct -- until Nesenoff, who heads a Long Island synagogue, posted the video on his site RabbiLIVE.com. Commentators on the right and left quickly eviscerated Thomas.

    "She's always said crazy stuff," said National Review Online columnist Jonah Goldberg. "One reason she gets a pass is that there's an entrenched system of deference to seniority in the White House press corps. . . . This newfound horror and dismay that people are expressing about Helen Thomas are beyond a day late and a dollar short."

    Jeffrey Goldberg, an Atlantic reporter who specializes in the Middle East said: "Helen Thomas offered the official Hamas position, as far as I can tell. There's a level of insensitivity that's almost comical in what she said, to tell Jews to go back to Germany, where things worked out so well for them."

    Thomas told a Washington Post reporter Friday night that she was "very sorry" and had "made a mistake," but did not address the substance of her comments. By Monday morning -- after her agent had dropped her, Hearst expressed deep regret over her remarks and White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called them "offensive and reprehensible" -- she decided to call it quits. Thomas, the daughter of Lebanese immigrants, said in a statement that her comments "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."

    She is the most famous woman ever to cover 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and served as the first female president of the White House Correspondents' Association, which on Monday called her comments "indefensible." Thomas has written several books about the White House and played herself in the movies "Dave" (1993) and "The American President" (1995).

    In 2000, when Thomas resigned from United Press International after it was bought by News World Communications, a company controlled by officials of the Unification Church, Dan Rather called her "a hero of journalism."

    During George W. Bush's administration, Thomas became an icon for some liberals who applauded her outspoken opposition to the Iraq invasion and cast her as tougher than the reporters who failed to skeptically question the march to war. Ari Fleischer, who was Bush's first press secretary, led the campaign for her ouster over the weekend, e-mailing journalists who might have missed her remarks.



    washingtonpost.com
    dead for so long. Now go away to your Nursing Home and rocking chair and then well.......

  24. #24
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    Angry then where

    Quote Originally Posted by raycarey View Post
    for many years thomas was a reporter for UPI, but resigned after the moonies bought it. for the last eight years she was a columnist for hearst and therefore was fully entitled to express her opinions on issues in the news....not sure why she was still sitting in on daily WH press briefings.

    and BTW, she was right.
    the hell do the Jews go? God's chosen people just forget that ok.

  25. #25
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    A Tip O' Tom's Top Hat

    Good job Helen. Sorry it had to end this way. The morons who cast stones at you - at 89 - are the losers and cowards who will do nothing with their lives except whinge - and pander for favours. You called it as you saw it - and as many others still see it - rightly or wrongly. Few these days have the guts to do that.

    Tom bows to no one - but I will tip my top hat to you.
    Last edited by Tom Sawyer; 08-06-2010 at 09:14 PM.
    My mind is not for rent to any God or Government, There's no hope for your discontent - the changes are permanent!

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