A remarkably fair and respectful segment on legendary journalist Helen Thomas from CNN.
- Comment
- Reblog
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
A remarkably fair and respectful segment on legendary journalist Helen Thomas from CNN.
P U L S E 
Yes, a surprisingly fair segment for the Wolf Blitzer show. (Wolf is a former AIPAC spin doctor, by the by.) Still, “feisty” is about the most condescending, patronizing thing you can say about an elderly wman, kind of like calling a black person “well-spoken”. May Helen Thomas wind up dancing on Blitzer’s grave.
Chespirito, do you think there is any truth in the rumour that Helen has moved to Norway?
Apparently the Norwegians have a bridge that required her services.
“I find your comment offensive”
– Agreed
“but I suspect Helen Thomas would not hesitate to dance on the grave of a Jew.”
– I find your comment even more offensive
“How sad this Arab-American role model is now vilified throughout the free world.”
– “free” world? uhh
Rob: “Agreed”
– Thank you
“I find your comment even more offensive”
– Why? Given her comment on Jews going back to Germany or Poland (where 6.5 million Jews were murdered in her lifetime), would dancing on the grave of a Jew be more offensive?
Helen Thomas was clearly brought up with the racist attitude that pervades the arab world.
The people she champions, the palestinians, have disgusting references to Jews in the charter of their democratically elected government, Hamas.
http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=427
“free” world? uhh
– By free world I mean the democratic, civilised world where human rights are respected and civil rights exist. Namely: USA, Canada, EU countries, Israel, Australia, NZ, Japan and most of South America, plus some smaller island states. I tried to think of an arab country these criteria, but none comes close.
Sorry, the last sentence should read:
I tried to think of an arab country that meets these criteria, but none comes close.
Bill Fairfax :
Hi
The comments section has been skewered, through no fault of the people at PULSE – some comments have been deleted, due to their egregious nature.
“I find your comment even more offensive”
“- Why?”
The comment which has been deleted stated that Thomas (who is an example of what a journalist should be, in the context of that obsequious and obedient group of jokesters that regularly raises its hands to receive the approbation of the government officials to write what is acceptable) “… would not hesitate to dance on the grave of a Jew.”
This is outrageous, as it paints Thomas as some sort of racist, and attributes sentiments to Thomas that she never expressed herself. It is false.
You are citing
palwatch.org
How is it you are so confident to cite such dubious sources? I call it chutzpah. You should call it a day…
What a remarkable woman Helen Thomas has been, and will always be! How tragic that in this day and age one can criticise virtually any country in the United States, including the United States itself, but cannot criticise Israel whose illegal occupation of Palestinian land and oppression of the Palestinian people is unquestionably the single most important cause of instability in the Middle East. What is ironic about this whole affair of criticising Israel in the United States is that many Israeli citizens, be they Jewish, Christians, Muslims or what have, are vey critical of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians. It is about time that Israel should be viewed and approached like any other country whose actions and policies can be assessed and criticized without this nonsensical threat of anti-semitism. Indeed, such a “threat” has the effect of demeaning and trivializing anti-semitism. In fact an honourable personality like Helen Thomas should be the last person to be accused of being anti-semitic. Her parents are of Arab/Lebanese background, i.e., real Semites, unlike most, if not all Eastern European Jews who have absolutely nothing to with the real Semites (for this purpose one may wish to read Arthur Koestler’s fascinating book titled “The Thirteenth Tribe.” The late Koestler himself was Jewish). These accusations should be exposed for what they are, futile attempts to shield Israel’s racist policies against the Palestinians, including the occupation of their land,from criticism.
Helen said it best .You could call our president anything you want from a drunk, to a womanizer, or to president obama being called a alabama porch monkey. you are protected by freedom of speech, but woe if you say anything about israel.One of our congressmen is trying to get a law passed making it a crime to say anything derogatory about israel.what has happened to our country. are we about to become the united suburbs of israel?
Pete, you clearly have difficulty distinguishing between fair criticism and blatent racism. If Helen Thomas had called Obama an Alabama porch monkey she would have been sacked and just as disparaged as she is today.
Do you believe she has a chance of getting back into the Whitehouse?
Personally, I believe she has more chance of shacking up with Brad Pitt.
What a contrast. Helen Thomas is a giant among reporters. Wolf blizer is nothing but a sleazy propagandist whose words helped cause the murder of millions.
If Helen Thomas had said Afro-Americans should go back to Africa, would that have been acceptable?
First of all, please consider her entire statement rather than just the part that suits your argument:
“Tell them to get the get the hell out of Palestine. Remember, these people [the Palestinians] are occupied and it’s their land. It’s not Germany, it’s not Poland.” [Where should they go?] “They should go home, to Poland, Germany and America.”
She was talking about the occupation. That’s the part that is intentionally often left out.
Anyone with even an iota of historical knowledge can see through your ‘question’ in a second. African Americans were originally brought to America as slaves. Palestine has been undergoing colonization from Ashkenazi Jews for decades. There is no comparison.
She is also technically right. Ashkenazi Jews comprise the majority of the Jewish population in Israel.
She wasn’t diplomatic and certainly I can see how Israeli Jews could take offense, but your real question should be, did she deserve to be treated in such a disgraceful manner considering her long career as a pioneer female in American journalism who has spent her life trying to get to the root of the issues that plague the Middle East? And also, what groups have been gunning to get Thomas out for years because she refused to toe the official line?
By the way, even Jews disagree with your faulty line of reasoning:
It seems Helen Thomas doesn’t agree with you Margie. Rather than give a transparently disingenous explanation she took the only decent course of action available and apologized.
In June 2010 Helen Thomas released the following statement:
“I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians.”
If she was only talking about Jews in the territories she would have said that they should return to Israel, not Poland or Germany. She didn’t.
She will, quite rightly, be remembered as a racist. :=)
Margie, it seems President Obama doesn’t agree with you either.
He described her remarks as “offensive”.
He clearly wasn’t happy to have a racist correspondent in the Whitehouse.
Good for him.
Thanks Ibrahim, Rob, hayate and Margie. Anyone who slimes the great Helen Thomas as racist is clearly an idiot. The oxygen is being cut from this time-wasting troll who can’t make a decent argument.
In response to Bill Fairfox’s rhetorical question concerning Helen Thomas’s “tell them to get the hell out of Palestine,” there are at least two fundamental and qualitatives differences between the case of the Palestinians and that of the Afro Americans, namely:
1) Whereas the ancestors of most Afro Americans were forced to cross the Atlantic as slaves during the repugnant slave trade, that is, they had no choice whatsover, the Jewish settlers in the occupied Palestinian lands, especially in the West Bank, are being given all kinds of economic and political incentives to settle, illegally, in the occupied Palestinian territories; and
2) Ulike the vast area of North America which was, and still is, capable of accommodating and sustaining
large population,the land of Palestine is relatively very small which entails that the more Jewish settlers/colonizers are brought in to settle in the West Bank, the more native Palestinians have to be pushed out. This is precisely what is happening in Palestine right now. Ethnic cleansing is inherent in the Zionist project in Palestine from its very inception. In this respect, one can refer to the splendid book titled “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine,” by the renowned Israeli(Jewish) historian Ilan Pappe (Oneworld Publications:2007).
Ibrahim
To Bill Fairfax:
The fact that one could list 50 or so sources and/or dictionaries from numerous countries in multiple languages that do not use the term “anti-semites” person “other than a person who descriminates against or is prejudiced or hostile toward Jews,” is in no way a proof that the term is used correctly. If anything, it only goes to prove either “intellectual sloppiness” or a deliberate attempt to exclude well over 95 per cent of the real semites, i.e., the well over 400 million Arabs of the Arab world, or both. In this respect, the fact that most, if not all, European-centred history books refer to Christopher Columbus as the “discoverer” of the Americas is in way a proof that neither the Americas nor their native peoples existed before the arrival of Columbus to the so-called New World. The Arabs are the real semites and the Americas and their native peoples existed before their “discovery” by Columbus.
Equally important is the fact that the Holocaust crimes against European Jews and others took place in Europe cannot, and shoul not, be used to justify the expulsion of the native (semites) Palestinians in order to make room for European and non-European Jewish immigrants. As the saying goes: “Two wrongs do not make right.” The native Palestinian Arabs, be they Muslims, Christian, or Jews (yes, there are Arab Jews, in fact one of modern Egypt’s most famous singer, Laila Murad, was a Jewess), have had absolutely nothing to do with the Holocaust crimes that were committed in Eupre, by Europeans, against Europeans. How can one evil act (the Holocaust) justify another evil act (of Palestinan ethnic cleansing)? Palestinians committed no harm against Jews except to have kept their doors open to persecuted European Jews (who they considred cousins as “People of the Book”). For this kindness, Palestinian Christians and Muslims lost their home and their birthright. Lamentably, when Zionists and their supporters have no defence against truth, they resort to this anti-semitic accusation to silence critics of Israel’s racist policies. People of decency and conscience are offended when truth is suppressed this way.
Ibrahim
What do you mean and/or imply by saying “your comment is awaiting moderation” mean?
Ibrahim
Helen is one of very few, a reporter that actually did her job, not just copy the governments’ daily handouts.
The zionist smear job was so mean & petty, but who cares if it gets the supporters of racism what they crave, destruction of gentiles,
This is sort of down the road, but you guys should take back what belongs to you, because anti-Arab insults and incendiary language should not be tolerated.
Racism is senseless and USA Muslims and Muslims around the world are being talked about in such demeaning ways, it makes me gasp.
To Pulse Media:
Thank you for putting a lid on the troll, I try to ignore such posters but the provocations made by an ill willed poster makes it difficult.
Best wishes, Kate