To Expand A Bit on The Helen Thomas Thing (Now With Update!)

Helen did not use the word, "Jews." The Rabbi interviewing her did. And when she heard that, it seemed to dawn on her what was up; she cut her eyes at the person she was talking to and expanded her wish that Israelis would "go home" to "America and everywhere else."

She has long stated her guiding principle in the Middle East: innocent people should not be forced to pay for or die for the crimes of others.

It's the essence of her view of decency and justice. It's not a hard concept to understand, it's just rarely observed by the contending forces in the Middle East or anywhere else.

In fact, the universal policy in the Middle East and elsewhere seems to be that innocent people will always be made to pay or die for the crimes of others, at a ratio of hundreds to one.

If Helen's principle were observed in Europe during that Unfortunate Period of the 20th Century, there wouldn't have been a Holocaust, and if there wasn't a Holocaust, there probably wouldn't have been an Israel, either. The Palestinians might be living in peace and happiness, who knows.

Wouldn't want that.

In trying to seek some understanding of Israel's victim mentality -- and the violence that is Israelis' constant way with regard to their subjugated minorities and neighbors -- I came across a link to a brilliant documentary by Israeli filmmaker Yoav Shamir called "Defamation". In it, the filmmaker tries to make sense of a term he has heard all his life in Israel but has never experienced: "Antisemitism." He goes on a long journey and learns many things. One of them being that Israel lives on the corpses of the Holocaust, something that happened long ago and far away, and which is now used as an excuse to deflect any criticism of Israel or Israeli military/political action and declare it "Antisemitism." The picture is remarkable for what it bravely shows of human nature, and for the hope it gives that a less froughtful future is possible. Not easy. Possible. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Part I (of 9) embedded below:



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UPDATE The Rabbi has posted the entire interview with Helen Thomas. Watch it, and then tell the world what a hideous antisemitic old hag Helen is. Just tell the whole wide world. The Rabbi should be ashamed.

Sometimes I just want to scream.

Rude

Helen Thomas issued the following statement today: “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 recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.” (June 4, 2010)

News Release from Russia Today

Helen Thomas “hung by her own words”


Published 08 June, 2010, 02:09

American Reporter Helen Thomas has covered the White House since the Kennedy administration, but recent comments on Israel are forcing her to retire.


Thomas’s controversial statements about Israel are causing quite a stir in Washington and throughout the national media.

Thomas was recorded in an impromptu video interview saying, “Tell them [Jews] to get the hell out of Palestine. […] Remember these people [Palestinians] are occupied and it’s their land, not Germany, not Poland. They [Jews] can go home to Poland, Germany and America and everywhere else.”

Thomas has been a long time critic of Israel and Israeli policy. She has been admired by her in the past and in known for raising sharp questions on international issues.

"This was right after the incident happened on the high seas outside of Gaza. She was obviously very emotional and very upset, not very elegant in the way she spoke and not making the distinctions she later made in her clarification,” said blogger Danny Schechter.


Clarifications made later by Thomas indicated she has continually supported the peace process and respect and tolerance among the parties involved.

“She’s been hung by her own words,” said Schechter.

Many defending Thomas cite her right to free speech, however the issue came down to who Thomas represented when she made her comments, notable the White House press corp and Hearst Newspapers.

Schechter said that the White House correspondents have become increasingly soft in their coverage of the White House, in past and present administrations, referring to them as “hypocrites.”

“I think Helen Thomas apologized. I think Helen Thomas explained her comments. I think Helen Thomas then became a convenient target for the people who want to just limit all debate and discussion about Israel. I don’t think Helen Thomas should be crucified here. I think she should be honored for her 50 years of service,” said Schechter.

In other words, she was rude. And in today's Versailles on the Potomac, populated by squadrons of Heathers, popinjays, sycophants, toadies, and courtiers masquerading as "journalists," being rude is the worst possible sin.

Cranky, cantankerous and eccentric, certainly. But rude? Never.

Be gone with her.

Enough of this monstrous woman.

Sic transit and all that.

Helen who?

Well.

The interregnum is over. George W Bush was dismissed the other day to a chorus of lusty boos -- boos that were covered over by the sounds of clomping in the hallways of the Capitol on most of the tee vee coverage of the Inauguration, but not, apparently, on MSNBC. The video at the end of this post is from the crowd's perspective and it is even more of a rebuke to Bush.

The People despise him. They despise what he has done, what he has said, what he has believed.

Yet throughout his Regime of error, disaster, death, destruction, and multiple dashed hopes and dreams, he was preserved from experiencing the depth of the People's disgust with him and his policies.

Until Tuesday.

When finally the pent up loathing of the People for this man and all he has wrought was let loose for a few minutes of spirited popular contempt. "Bad form. Bad form," say the gasbags.

Yes. To them, to the Courtiers who have infested the Palace the last eight years, it's all about form. There is nothing but form in their minds, and all they ever really wanted was to keep things on an even footing, following the rules of etiquette, keeping things civil. Even when, as was so often the case, the level of outrageousness -- and complete contempt for the basic rules of civilization itself -- by the White House and its denizens was almost beyond comprehension.

"Nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey, Good Bye!"