Helen Thomas should be fired

[WillowTree]

It is anti semitism, how what why when and where did Israel become a state? They didn't just pull it out of their ass did they?

Please explain to me how disagreeing with the existence of modern Israel is antisemitic. Just saying it is does not make it so. Thomas' statements are political, not racial.

For a brief history, modern Israel was created in 1948 by the UN as part as decolonization efforts. There were supposed to be a Jewish and then an Arab state, but the Arabs disagreed with the plan, and the Jewish community took the initiative to declare its independence. At the time, the Jewish population in the area was about a third of the total population.

Please note, that before 1948, Israel hadn't existed as a political entity for thousands of years.

thank you. now that old bag needs to sit down and shut up. she's clearly anti Israel and now she's pissed off a lot of people with her anti semetic rantings.

 

[strollingbones]

fired by whom? she retired as a reporter some time ago. she is a columnist. so who should fire her?

she is given the front row...due to the respect of her fellow collegues...lets see if that changes...but i am still interested in who should fire her?

 

[Lonestar_logic]

AHHH the freedom of speach crowd

Hey stupid, from what I've read these folks want her fired, that's not the same as shutting her up. She is free to voice whatever fucked up opinion she has just like you do.

 

[strollingbones]

fired by whom from what? i just dont see what she is gonna be fired from?

she does not work for the white house....yall do understand that...right?

 

[strollingbones]

Helen Thomas's front-row presence in the White House press room is an honor bestowed by her colleagues, in recognition of her long-time service. She retired as a reporter about a decade ago--and now, at the age of 89, she writes a column for Hearst Newspapers. She is the daughter of Lebanese immigrants and her general views on the Middle East have long been known. Her specific views about Jews became a bit better known last week, when she told them to leave Israel and go back to Europe. This is odious, obviously.

Thomas is a vestigial member of the White House Correspondents Association, an organization that mostly consists of those who cover the White House on a daily basis; most columnists--people like me, for example--are not members, although a smattering of opinion-mongers, even from obscure publications, have somehow managed to get themselves credentialed over the years. So it's not unprecedented for journalists with odious views to have access to the press room. What is unprecedented is for such a journalist to have a front-row center seat. Thomas should no longer have that privilege. The front row should be occupied by working reporters, not columnists. The WHCA should sanction Thomas by sending her back to the cheap seats. This would accurately reflect her current status as a journalist while preserving her First Amendment right to be as obnoxious as she wants



Read more: Helen Thomas: Go to the Back of the Room - Swampland - TIME.com

 

[Lonestar_logic]

Helen Thomas's front-row presence in the White House press room is an honor bestowed by her colleagues, in recognition of her long-time service. She retired as a reporter about a decade ago--and now, at the age of 89, she writes a column for Hearst Newspapers. She is the daughter of Lebanese immigrants and her general views on the Middle East have long been known. Her specific views about Jews became a bit better known last week, when she told them to leave Israel and go back to Europe. This is odious, obviously.

Thomas is a vestigial member of the White House Correspondents Association, an organization that mostly consists of those who cover the White House on a daily basis; most columnists--people like me, for example--are not members, although a smattering of opinion-mongers, even from obscure publications, have somehow managed to get themselves credentialed over the years. So it's not unprecedented for journalists with odious views to have access to the press room. What is unprecedented is for such a journalist to have a front-row center seat. Thomas should no longer have that privilege. The front row should be occupied by working reporters, not columnists. The WHCA should sanction Thomas by sending her back to the cheap seats. This would accurately reflect her current status as a journalist while preserving her First Amendment right to be as obnoxious as she wants



Read more: Helen Thomas: Go to the Back of the Room - Swampland - TIME.com

Then the stupid bitch should lose her coveted position and no paper should run her columns. Unless you have nothing against anti-semitic bigots.

 

[strollingbones]

first of all...i simply ask who was gonna fire her....it was a point of fact

as far as her remarks...she owns those....dont try to put them off on me.

 

[strollingbones]

i am neither pro israel or pro palis....i am pro american... that is all i need to be.

 

[strollingbones]

i see faults on both sides and i am sick of paying for a me peace we are not getting.

 

[The Rabbi]

first of all...i simply ask who was gonna fire her....it was a point of fact

as far as her remarks...she owns those....dont try to put them off on me.

Anyone who buys her columns.
And she is ignorant to boot. Most Jews in Israel, if they weren't born there, come from Arab countries.

 

[WillowTree]

fired by whom? she retired as a reporter some time ago. she is a columnist. so who should fire her?

she is given the front row...due to the respect of her fellow collegues...lets see if that changes...but i am still interested in who should fire her?

whomever pays her money for her columns. that's who. she lost status as a "journalist" with her anti semetic spew. now she's just an opinionated OLD hag. like me.

 

[Lonestar_logic]

first of all...i simply ask who was gonna fire her....it was a point of fact

as far as her remarks...she owns those....dont try to put them off on me.

Sounded to me like you were defending her. But since you're neither pro or anti Israel, why even bother with an opinion?

 

[strollingbones]

o as an american i have an opinion...

neither side is interested in peace..there is no profit in peace for either side....

since we pay both sides a good deal of money i think i have ever right as a taxpayer to have an opinion

 

[Lonestar_logic]

o as an american i have an opinion...

neither side is interested in peace..there is no profit in peace for either side....

since we pay both sides a good deal of money i think i have ever right as a taxpayer to have an opinion

I see, you have an opinion but you can't decide on which side of the debate you stand on.

Whom do you think the land should belong to and why?

 

[Papageorgio]

Her comments aren't really that controversial. It was a weird way for her to say that she essentially doesn't agree with the existence of the state of Israel (note she said Palestine), which is a valid opinion, but these are hardly bigoted comments.

Was the comments on her looks really necessary? She's an old lady, for Christ sake's, have some decency and tact. I may not like Rush Limbaugh, but I'm not going to call him fat when I disagree with him. I'm going to debate what he says and believes, not how he looks.

So you aren't like Al Franken?

 

[Papageorgio]

Thomas should keep her position and should continue to go on with her hate speech. Maybe people will wake up to the hate.

Helen continue on and give us your opinions, we want you and your ilk exposed for what you really are about.

 

[The Rabbi]

o as an american i have an opinion...

neither side is interested in peace..there is no profit in peace for either side....

since we pay both sides a good deal of money i think i have ever right as a taxpayer to have an opinion

What advantage is there to Israel to fight a terrorist war?
The Palestinian leadership wants it because it diverts attention from their own mismanagement of the country and at least unites Palestinians (and other Arabs) in the one thing they can all agree on.
But Israel? There is no profit to them in this.

 

[Woyzeck]

thank you. now that old bag needs to sit down and shut up. she's clearly anti Israel and now she's pissed off a lot of people with her anti semetic rantings.

I'm sorry what? You seemed to have not understood my post. Thomas may be anti-Israel, but she's not antisemitic. Her statements were political, not racial in nature. She made no actual antisemitic statements, just that Palestine is being occupied and the occupiers should get out.

Equating a dislike of Israel with a dislike of the Jewish people is disingenuous. If I don't like what's happened in Zimbabwe, does that make me racist against blacks? If I don't like what David Cameron is doing as prime minister, should we automatically assume I hate Anglicans? Do you see where I'm going with this? This logic simply doesn't work out in the end, because you take an assumption and run off with it without having anything to back it up. Equating political statements with racial ones distracts meaningful discussion from places that have problems today.

Please explain to me how Helen Thomas' statements are antisemitic. Your post quoting mine about the UN creating it does not mean she's antisemitic. Yes, she's against Israel, we've established that. Now please explain to me how this makes her an antisemitic.

Don't pull the same crap you did with Sky Dancer either. You assert she's antisemitic? Start proving it to me with more than just "she is."

 

[Sky Dancer]

Helen Thomas high school speech canceled over flap - Yahoo! News

She apologized that is enough for the left to forgive her.

I forgive her.

 

[xsited1]

Helen Thomas should be fired

I disagree with Ari Fleischer on this. She takes the Hezbollah View and does not recognize Israel. The more she talks, the more people will realize just how radical she and her ilk really are.