Washington – Under fire for controversial remarks she made (and apologized for) about the status of Jews in Israel, longtime White House scribe Helen Thomas was dropped on Sunday by her speaking agency.
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“It is with a heavy heart that Nine Speakers, Inc. announces its resignation as the agent for Helen Thomas, Dean of the White House Press Corps,” read a statement from Diane Nine, president of the agency. “Ms. Thomas has had an esteemed career as a journalist, and she has been a trailblazer for women, helping others in her profession, and beyond. However, in light of recent events, Nine Speakers is no longer able to represent Ms. Thomas, nor can we condone her comments on the Middle East. Nine Speakers will continue to enthusiastically represent all of our other current and future clients.”
Thomas caused a stir late this week when a video was released of her declaring that Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine” and go back to Germany and Poland. She has since apologized for the remarks, saying they did not properly reflect her position on the conflict of the Middle East. But the criticism has been scorching ever since. Late Friday night, former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer called for Thomas’ firing from Hearst news service, where she serves as a columnist.
Former Clinton adviser and consummate political “centrist” Lanny Davis released a statement on Sunday that was even more condemning, calling Thomas, among other things, an “anti-Semitic bigot.”
“[H]er statement that Jews in Israel should leave Israel and go back to Poland or Germany is an ancient and well-known anti-Semitic stereotype of the Alien Jew not belonging in the ‘land of Israel’ — one that began 2,600 years ago with the first tragic and violent diaspora of the Jews at the hands of the Romans,” Davis’ statement read, in part. “If she had asked all blacks to go back to Africa, what would the White House Correspondents Association’s position be as to whether she deserved White House press room credentials — much less a privileged honorary seat?”
Hearst has so far declined to weigh in on Thomas’ status as a columnist with its news service. But the growing sentiment within the larger media world is that she should, at the very least, have her privileged status at the White House revoked. Davis himself argued for the suspension of “all privileges in the White House press room” in addition to her nationally-syndicated column. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Time Magazine’s Joe Klein penned a post for the website arguing that Thomas should no longer be able to sit in the front row at daily press briefings — albeit because she was a editorialist as much as for her incendiary remarks.
Thomas, who is of Lebanese descent, had been fairly upfront on her position of the Israel-Palestine crisis prior to the most recent comments surfacing. But the videotape released on Friday has placed her viewpoints in a much sharper and critical light and raised uncomfortable questions and coverage about her position within the White House press corps.
Watch the outcome of this remark.
The world at large will come back: “Why not send the Jews back to Poland?”
This antisemitic bigot lady will end up turning into a hero.
Good riddance. What a hideous old bag.
Why should anyone care about the bigoted and irresponsible statements spewed by this worthless old lady? Several reasons. One – she has senior status in which her word is accepted as more than conjecture. Two – bigoted comments today become inciteful. There is a growing air of anti-Israel bias and anti-Jewish sentiments across the country and worldwide. Just the headlines testify to that. The idle, idiotic words of this madwoman have effects, and others are easily empowered and stimulated by them. So this little old lady is not demonstrating her senility (even if that was the case). She is standing proudly on a soapbox, and egging the world to direct their hatred to Jews everywhere. That is a major crime, and she needs to be held accountable for the full brunt of her actions. Her apology was pathetic, as most apologies are. Has anyone detected sincerity in her apology?
THIS IS JUST THE BEGINING OF HER TOPLING DOWN….
it will go like dominos 1 after the other evry1 will drop her, wait n see!!
It’s about time for everyone to get rid of that ugly senile raghag.
She says that her comments “…to get the hell out of Palestine(sic) and go back to Poland and Germany” did not did not properly reflect her position?
Funny, they seem clear enough to me. Perhaps she can use this opportunity to precisely articulate what the hell they do mean?
Someone should put the questions to her ecce: A) Where dose she expect us to go in poland and germany when our grand parents have all been killed and their homes taken away.
B)what makes her think that the palastinkers have more right to the land then us. In fact there has never even been a palastinian land before.
She looks like she would make a good shidduch for Jimmy “peanuts” Carter. She looks like a machshaifa. Get her a broom.
In Polland the anti semites told my father to go back to Palestine.
At last this old bigoted anti simetic, anti american, will get her due just. It’s a shame that she has gotten this far in her career, but at least when she lays rotting and dying it’ll be as a downfallen loser and not as a hero….
Helen , are you named after volcanic Mount St, Helen ? One is spewing fire , the othe hatred .
We should send letters of support to Nine Speakers Inc.
Maybe she should “get the hell out” of the White House and get herself a makeover; she looks like her face got run over by a truck.
Davis made a very true point. If anyone would have made a comment about any other race getting out (i.e. blacks) there would be riots and uproar.
Welcome to double-standard America.
she lost her job? nebach no sweat she can sell her face for a purim mask a meeskeit
actually i would like to see her in Europe and maybe we should give her a taste of the gas chambers and the ovens for dessert!!!!!!
Awesome! I had sent an email to the agent. Next…
It was the right thing to do to drp her no question about it. She’s an old lady who made lots of trouble to lots of presidents under the disguise of being a great journalist. She’s an icon of idiocy as far as I’m concerned.
I wonder if she ever told her immigrant Lebonese parents to go back to Lebanon? 😉
this a vashti of our time
She’s been there since Eisenhower. It’s about time she retires.
“Under fire for controversial remarks she made (and apologized for) about the status of Jews in Israel, longtime White House scribe Helen Thomas was dropped on Sunday by her speaking agency.”
There is perhaps, a yet to be mentioned factor in regard to the anti-Semitic remarks made by Helen Thomas. She did not make her remarks despite the fact that she was being filmed and interviewed by a Rabbi. She made them because she was being filmed and interviewed by a Rabbi. It appears that the sight of David Nesenoff drove her off the deep end, and she committed journalistic suicide. Being dropped from her speaking agency is a good beginning, but censure of Thomas should certainly not end there.
Usually beauty is blinding and pretty people get away with things. C’mon, she’s so beautiful if not eloquent and sweet. I say we keep her in.
Let her go back to where she came from, Lebanon, and let’s see if she can be as verbal and free with her tongue as she is here in the U.S.!!
Hearst Newspapers spokesman Paul Luthringer emailed the Washington Post: “We deeply regret Helen Thomas’ remarks, which in no way reflect the views of Hearst Newspapers or its employees. Helen has expressed her own profound regret over the incident.”
Paul J. Luthringer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (212) 649-2540. E-mail: [email protected]
Everyone should stop saying go back to Lebanon as if it was a country before Palestine. Lebanon and Syria were part of Turkey (Ottoman empire). Our wonderful Jew loving English who took over from Turkey, decided they have to give Syria and Lebanon to the arabs to appease them for giving Palestine to the Jews. Then after that the League of Nations decided to give Trans-Jordan (Now Jordan) to the arabs because they were going to give Palestine to the Jews. Even after all that England still couldn’t give Palestine to the Jews; so the Jews there started to attack the English till they fled. So all our problems today are directly due to these anti-semitic Britans.
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According to her thinking, the US is also occupied territory, the Native Americans were here first. As were Mexicans. Perhaps Americans should go back to where they came from. Start with her.
In Saudia Arabia they would have cut out her tongue, had she spoken agianst the government!
On Fri I send an E mail asking them to drop her I am so happy ! MAzal Tov
How dare you !!! Represent a “person” who can make such comments.
” the Jews should “Get the hell out of Palestine.” and recommends that they return to Germany and Poland.
Does your dear client know any history?
My maternal grandmother came from Poland. Do I need to educate you what happened to her parents and siblings?
My paternal grandfathers family lived in Hungary for over 100 years before the Holocaust. Do I need to tell you what happened to his family? This much I will educate you, the last time he saw his mother and nine siblings was at Auschwitz.
I hope to hear back from you that you can NO longer represent such a type of person.
She was attending a Jewish History Month event and made a statement she later withdrew.
Despite her Lebanese background (a potential geographic hate), we do not have much to go on to call her an Anti-Semite. Is there more to the story that I’m missing?
Helen should “get the hell out of” Washington D.C. and go back to her home, Beirut, where her Hizbollah comrades will welcome her, especially as a woman, very warmly.