Helen Thomas of Detroit has been attacked viciously for raising critical questions about the legitimacy of the State of Israel and U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle-East. She was forced to resign with Hearst.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
15:22 Mecca time, 12:22 GMT
Reporter quits over Israel remark
Thomas has covered every US president since John F Kennedy
Veteran White House journalist Helen Thomas, who has covered every US president since John F Kennedy, has abruptly retired amid a storm of criticism over her controversial remarks about Israel.
Her retirement on Monday as a Hearst Newspapers columnist came after she was captured on video saying Israelis should "get the hell out of Palestine" and that they should go "home" to Germany, Poland or the United States.
The comments drew widespread condemnation with Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, describing her comments as “offensive and reprehensible”.
Thomas, 89, long considered the dean of the White House press correspondents, apologised for the statements she made on May 27.
In a statement issued over the weekend she said: "I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognise the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon."
Fallout
The controversy prompted Thomas to be dropped by her public speaking agency and also led to the cancellation of her plans to deliver a high school commencement address in suburban Washington.
"Helen Thomas announced Monday that she is retiring, effective immediately," Hearst News Service reported. "Her decision came after her controversial comments about Israel and the Palestinians were captured on videotape and widely disseminated on the Internet."
Thomas was absent from Monday's White House briefing, where she has a reserved seat in the centre of the front row.
The White House Correspondents Association called her remarks "indefensible" and, before the announcement of her retirement, scheduled a meeting on whether an opinion columnist should have a front-row seat in the West Wing briefing room.
"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 trail blazer on the White House beat," the association's board said in a statement.
Thomas became a columnist for the Hearst newspaper chain in recent years after working for decades as a White House correspondent for United Press International.
Source: Agencies
Wayne State mulls fate of diversity award named after Helen Thomas
Fallout builds from remarks about Israelis by journalist
BY TODD SPANGLER
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF
WASHINGTON -- It has been less than two months since Wayne State University gave out its annual Helen Thomas Spirit of Diversity awards, named for one of its best-known graduates and her trailblazing work as a woman in what was once a Washington press corps dominated by men.
Now, though, Wayne State may have to reconsider the name.
"There have been folks already who have asked about it," said Ben Burns, director of WSU's journalism program.
On Monday, 89-year-old Thomas -- who grew up on Detroit's east side, the daughter of Lebanese immigrants, and who has covered every president since 1960 -- resigned her position with Hearst in the wake of remarks denounced as anti-Semitic. She was caught in a recording last week saying Jewish people should "get the hell out" of Palestine and go back to where they came from, whether it be Poland, Germany or the U.S.
"I think her comments represent the vilest form of blatant anti-Semitism," said Richard Nodel, president of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Metro Detroit. "Did she mean we should go back to the gas chambers? The concentrations camps of Germany and Poland?"
Thomas apologized Monday, saying she regretted the comments, and that they did not reflect her desire for peace. But the damage was done: The Obama administration denounced the remarks, and the White House Correspondents Association distanced itself from the comments as well, noting that Thomas -- who was the organization's first female president in the 1970s -- had not been a member for years.
The group also said it was considering whether it was appropriate for a columnist like Thomas to retain her traditional perch at the center of the front row of the press briefing room.
Just two months before her 90th birthday on Aug. 4, she retired.
Burns, who, like Thomas, is a former reporter for United Press International, called the overall reaction "pretty strong." He said Thomas long has had strong feelings about the Middle East. But, he said, he never heard her utter anything he considered anti-Semitic.
As far as WSU is concerned, he said, Thomas always has been an "inspiration to the students," telling stories about her encounters with Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and the other presidents she covered.
Two years ago, when asked by the Free Press what she would tell a young person who wants to cover the White House now, she said, "Go for it; it's the greatest profession in the world. It provides a great sense of independence and satisfaction in the search for truth. Every day is an education. What more can you ask of life than to keep learning?"
While not ignoring her accomplishments, Nodel said they must be seen in a harsher light.
"I think I would like to see Wayne State officials certainly reconsider whether -- in light of her statements -- they want to continue giving that award," he said. "I think it certainly devalues whatever meaning that award has had in the past or might have in the future."
No comments:
Post a Comment