Israel Matzav

Helen Thomas: Not just a momentary lapse

In case any of you thought that former White House correspondent Helen Thomas' anti-Semitic rant last June was a momentary lapse, this ought to prove otherwise (Hat Tip: The Blog Prof via Hot Air).

Helen Thomas said Thursday that she stands by her comments about Israel she made earlier this year that led to her resignation as a national columnist.

And she went further, saying that Zionists control U.S. foreign policy and other institutions. The local Jewish community condemned her remarks.

In an interview, Thomas, 90, said that criticizing Israel led to her resignation and ostracism in Washington.

"I can call a president of the United States anything in the book, but I can't touch Israel, which has Jewish-only roads in the West Bank," Thomas said. "No American would tolerate that -- white-only roads."

Thomas, a longtime White House correspondent who grew up in Detroit as the daughter of Lebanese immigrants, was in Dearborn for a workshop on anti-Arab bias.

In a speech to about 300 people inside a center in Dearborn, she talked about "the whole question of money involved in politics."

"Congress, the White House and Hollywood, Wall Street are owned by the Zionists. No question, in my opinion," she said. "They put their money where their mouth is. ... We're being pushed into a wrong direction in every way."

Jeff Dunetz adds:

There are some people who believe that any criticism of Israel is Antisemitism. That belief is as ignorant as Antisemitism itself. There is however, a great deal of crossover between hatred of Israel and hatred of the Jews. To find out what people really mean you need to examine the words they use. Make no mistake about it, Thomas uttered the word "Zionists" but her words showed that she meant the word "Jews." What Thomas said yesterday, that Congress, the White House, Hollywood and Wall Street are owned by Zionists, was a repetition of the anti-Semitic stereotypes that have been used for centuries to incite hatred of Jews. Ms. Thomas is nothing but a bigoted hater and that was the reason she was fired, not because she hates Israel (most of the progressive media is anti-Israel). Thomas was canned because she is a low-life hater, an anti-Semite and her speech yesterday adds more to her long record of hatred.

I disagree with Jeff's last two sentences. There are plenty of people in the media who feel just like Helen Thomas does. Helen Thomas just couldn't hide it anymore and that's why she was fired.

Labels: anti-Semitism, Helen Thomas

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:35 PM