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By

raycook

Opinion

Helen Thomas and Free Palestine Organisation have the same speech writer

June 21, 2010 15:16
4 min read

The world now knows that Helen Thomas, doyenne of the White House press corps was interviewed earlier this month (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc4OeRu7cfs).

Thomas, of Lebanese extraction, said that the Jews should 'get the hell out of Palestine'. When asked where they should go, she said they should go back to Germany, Poland, America and elsewhere. She was subsequently sacked from Hearst newspapers for her remarks.

Now, Helen Thomas is quite entitled to object to the Israeli presence in the West Bank and to settlements. What she appeared to be guilty of was saying that Jews should leave Palestine (and it is not clear what she meant by 'Palestine') and return to two countries which were largely responsible for the deaths of 6 million during the Holocaust.

This is insensitivity to put it mildly. If she were implying that Jews as settlers should leave Palestine/the West Bank, then why did she not say they should settle in Israel rather than 'get the hell out'. There was a clear implication that she did not believe Jews have the right to settle even in Israel and that they are ALL settlers from Europe, America and elsewhere.

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