# Helen Thomas Forcibly Retired **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 7, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299 "2010-06-07T17:06:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/41 "2010-06-07T19:42:48Z")
Yes. She’s the old lady who’s been in the front row of the WH Press Room since the McKinley administration. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/42 "2010-06-07T19:49:10Z")
I was born in Jerusalem, so I suppose I should move back there, right? After all, that’s where I come from. I prefer living in Tel Aviv, but if Ms. Thomas insists, then I guess I have to move. I’ll go pack. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/43 "2010-06-07T19:51:28Z")
Oh, and BTW, it’s nice to see so much forgiveness for ethnic cleaning here on the SDMB. Just when I think I have this place figured out, there’s always someone to take it one step further. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/44 "2010-06-07T19:55:20Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > You mean the post where I thought that her specific statement were beyond political? I never said that _anyone_ who is anti-Israel is also anti-Semitic and _in addtion_ I challenged **smiling bandit** ’s assertion that Thomas has always been “Jew hater.” > > Look, we can reasonably disagree about whether or not the one thing that she said on that one day was anti-Semitic or merely anti-Israel but you are way the fuck out of line to indicate that I think that everyone who doesn’t like Israel is a racist. I don’t believe that and I have never believed that. I still wasn’t complaining about you. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/45 "2010-06-07T19:55:51Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Oh, and BTW, it’s nice to see so much forgiveness for ethnic cleaning here on the SDMB. Just when I think I have this place figured out, there’s always someone to take it one step further. For what it’s worth - _almost_ everyone in this thread, myself included, regards Thomas’ comments as appalling. The only question is whether Thomas is merely suffering the effects of age (this is my view) or she has always had such bizarre fringe views. As for moving from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem - well, which has better curry? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/46 "2010-06-07T19:58:26Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > I still wasn’t complaining about you. This is what you said: > [@The Second Stone](#): > > I notice that **everyone** in this thread has equated her dislike of Israel with Anti-Semitism and in general equated criticism of Israel with Anti-Semitism and making Jews and Israelis co-extensive. (Emphasis is mine) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/47 "2010-06-07T20:03:54Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Here is my transcript: I think that supports my take on it. Although I thought people were saying she also said something about the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/48 "2010-06-07T20:04:55Z")
> [@](#): > > INTERVIEWER: Any comments on Israel? We’re asking everybody today… any comments on Israel? > > THOMAS: Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine. > > INTERVIEWER: Ooooh. Any better comments? > > THOMAS: Remember, these people are occupied. And it’s their land. It’s not German. It’s not Poland. > > INTERVIEWER: So where should they go? What should they do? > > THOMAS: They should go home. > > INTERVIEWER: So where’s home? > > THOMAS: Poland. Germany. > > INTERVIEWER: So the Jews should… so you’re saying the Jews should go back to Poland and Germany. > > THOMAS: …and America, and everywhere else. So she starts out being asked about Israel and then the questioner switches it to Jews. While I am still not happy with the way it was expressed by Ms. Thomas, I can certainly understand that she was played and is still being played “gotcha” by the people who conflate Israel with Jews for the purpose of oppressing Palestinians. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/49 "2010-06-07T20:05:28Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I don’t see any problem with her comments, actually You don’t see a problem with the equivalent “blacks ought to go back to Africa”, either? Just checking… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/50 "2010-06-07T20:06:24Z")
hajario And you are “everyone” in a general sense since when? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/51 "2010-06-07T20:07:16Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > So she starts out being asked about Israel and then the questioner switches it to Jews. That’s a crap objection. She says “they” should get out of Palestine. Who do you think she’s talking about? How is it a gotcha if you ask someone to elaborate on their views and they insist on saying something stupid? ---
**Author:** ![nani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58956e/32.png) [@nani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nani)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/52 "2010-06-07T20:10:00Z")
From what I understand, around half of the Jewish population of Israel trace their ancestry from other countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The few remaining Jews in these countries (There is still a large number of Iranian Jews) have a pretty difficult time of things, by all accounts. I’m not certain if they would have a place to go back to. I’m also sure that through intermarriage, a large number of present Israelis whose ancestors largely came from Poland or the USA can find at least one ancestor who lived in the general area of Israel/Palestine before 1948. I always liked Helen Thomas after the Stephen Colbert White House Correspondents’ Dinner, so it does bum me out a little to see her end her career by pulling an Andrew Johnson (who was president when she still sat in the second row). ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/53 "2010-06-07T20:10:15Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > hajario > > And you are “everyone” in a general sense since when? It wasn’t “everyone” in a general sense. It was “everyone in this thread” and I am one of the fewer than twelve or so people in the thread to that point. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/54 "2010-06-07T20:13:15Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > You don’t see a problem with the equivalent “blacks ought to go back to Africa”, either? > > Just checking… It’s not equivalent. Most black people in this country are descended from people who were brought here forcefully and the last one of them has been dead for well over a century. Most Israelis are descended from people who emigrated voluntarily and a lot of them are still alive. Huge numbers of Russian Jews emigrate to this day. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/55 "2010-06-07T20:23:26Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > You don’t see a problem with the equivalent “blacks ought to go back to Africa”, either? That’s not an equivalent. The equivalent would be with saying that white people should get out of South Africa. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/56 "2010-06-07T20:25:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That’s a crap objection. She says “they” should get out of Palestine. Who do you think she’s talking about? Israelis. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/57 "2010-06-07T20:29:14Z")
I’ve got to admit, I haven’t followed Helen Thomas’ career much. Okay, at all. I guess I’ve always just thought of her as a White House “fixture”- she’s always there, and you always call on her if only out of respect for her longevity. But damn, what’s with the Rightie hate on her? They’re all crowing about how she finally got what was coming to her. I can’t tell who they hate more- her, ACORN, or Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/58 "2010-06-07T20:36:25Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Israelis. So you think she wants Israeli Muslims to get out of the country and go back to their homelands, such as Germany, Poland, and the U.S.? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/59 "2010-06-07T20:38:54Z")
Is she the only one in that group who is not actually a reporter anymore? She’s been a columnist (not a news reporter) for some time now. If she was the only one, then she should have excused herself long before this. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299/60 "2010-06-07T20:39:17Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > But damn, what’s with the Rightie hate on her? She made such a practice of challenging Ari Fleischer on Bush’s Iraq bullshit that he stopped calling on her. The rest of the press corps didn’t want to do it for fear of losing their precious White House passes, and all the glamor that goes with being in it, but she was invulnerable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-thomas-forcibly-retired/542299.md?page=4)