WASHINGTON: Caught in a storm of criticism for her remarks on Jews, Helen Thomas‘ “immediate” retirement as a Hearst syndicated newspaper columnist was announced June 7 by the Hearst Corporation. For 50 years from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama, Thomas, daughter of Lebanese immigrants, has covered the White House for UP, which she joined in 1943, UPI and for the last 10 years for Hearst.
The firestorm started when a You Tube video showed Thomas, 89, an OPC member, saying that Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine” and “go back home to Poland, Germany, America and everywhere else.” A few days later on June 5, she posted on her Web site: “I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They 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. May that day come soon.”
But the damage was done. In a statement, the White House Correspondents Association wrote, “Many in our profession who have known Helen for years were saddened by the comments, which were especially unfortunate in light of her role as a trailblazer on the White House beat.” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said at a briefing, “Those remarks were offensive and reprehensible. I think she should and has apologized because obviously those remarks do not reflect the – certainly the opinion of, I assume, most of the people in here and certainly not of the administration.”
Ari Fleischer, press secretary for former President George W. Bush, said, “Helen’s statement calling for religious cleansing of Israel is reprehensible. If this isn’t bigotry, what is? What she said is as bad as someone saying all blacks should leave America and go back to Africa.”
Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, issued a written statement: “Her suggestion that Israelis should go back to Poland and Germany is bigoted and shows a profound ignorance of history. We believe Thomas needs to make a more forceful and sincere apology for the pain her remark has caused.” Lanny Davis, who served as special counsel to former President Bill Clinton, said, “Helen Thomas, who I used to consider a close friend and who I used to respect, has showed herself to be an anti-Semitic bigot… . She has a right to criticize Israel and that is not the same as being an anti-Semite.”
Former New York City Mayor Edward Koch said, “Her statement that Jews should ‘get the hell out of Palestine’ and go back to ‘Poland and Germany’ is clear evidence that she is no longer in control of her emotions and cognitive powers and that she cannot carry out the impartial obligations of a journalist. She has disgraced herself.”
Executives from her former companies spoke highly of Thomas. Charles J. Lewis, Hearst senior editor and former longtime Washington bureau chief: “Helen’s achievements in journalism have made her the other Washington monument. She brings passion and commitment to her world which is why she has so many devoted fans. Washington journalists – stingy in their peer praise – unabashedly admire her for her courage and tenacity. Robert E. Page, former UPI vice president: “Everyone is pouring it on Helen. A sad way for her to go out. You can bet that the only ones who will offer any sympathy and friendship when she probably feels she hasn’t a friend left will be her old UPI colleagues. The bond remains. A terrible mistake certainly but hardly the whole of a wonderful career.”
Widely covered in newspapers from New York to California and on to Australia, on TV, radio and the Internet, Thomas’ resignation was even reported in the foreign press including the Chinese-language World Journal published in New York with her photo.