Editorial “Thomas’ impact” opines:
“[Helen]Thomas was no diplomat. She once said, ‘There are no rude questions.’”
“But there are rude — and improper — answers. Her 2010 rant that Jews should ‘get the hell out of Palestine’ and return to Germany, Poland and the United States earned her international condemnation and led the White House Correspondents’ Association — an organization she once headed — to label her remarks as ‘indefensible.’ It ultimately ended her career.”
WATCHDOG: The editorial parallels the general media condemnation that accompanied the 90 year old’s undiplomatic utterance. But let’s look at the entire context of what she said.
The following is from the Global Jewish News:
“Thomas was asked by Rabbi David Nesenoff, a blogger with RabbiLive.com, if she had ‘any comments on Israel.’ Thomas responded, ‘Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine.’ Nesenoff then asked where Jews should go. ‘Go home,’ Thomas said. ‘Poland, Germany and America, and everywhere else.’”
The article contines: “In April, she told Playboy: ‘You cannot say anything about Israel in this country … Sure, the Israelis have a right to exist — but where they were born, not to come and take someone else’s home. I’ve had it up to here with the violations against the Palestinians. Why shouldn’t I say it? I knew exactly what I was doing — I was going for broke. I had reached the point of no return. You finally get fed up’”
What Thomas said is not in itself anti-Semitic. Rather it is a view held by hundreds of millions of people who consider Jews to have improperly wrestled Palestine, largely through force, from its Arab inhabitants and continue to treat the Palestinians unfairly.
We do not agree with Thomas. But we consider it inappropriate that journalists rushed to condemn rather than to defend Thomas for sharing an unpopular but arguable point of view. Given the context, she once again was ‘speaking truth to power.’
That is what investigative reporters are supposed to do.
