Helen Thomas Dropped From Speaking Agency After Saying Jews Should “Get the Hell Out of Palestine”
Following her controversial remarks about the status of Jews in Israel, veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas has been dropped by Nine Speakers, the agency that represents her.
View video of Thomas’ comments HERE.
“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’ remarks, made at the White House Jewish Heritage Celebration on May 27th 2010, sparked a firestorm of controversy when a video was released of her declaring that Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine” and go back to Germany and Poland.
Thomas’ seemingly insincere apology has done little to abate the scorching criticism.
Former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer called for Thomas’ firing from Hearst news service, where she serves as a columnist. And, former
Clinton adviser and 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 yet to make a statement with regard to Thomas’ status as a columnist with its news service. But the general consensus seems to be that she should, at the very least, have her privileged status at the White House revoked.
View video below:
