Are Germany and Israel the same thing?

If you ask the 89 year old legendary White House correspondent Helen Thomas it seems she would almost certainly say they are the same. At least it appeared that this might be Helen Thomas’s view during the Jewish Heritage American History Month celebration that took place on May 27th at the White House. The video with Thomas in her own words can be found at both Yahoo and RabbiLive.com, which was aired a full week after the incident.

During the celebration Rabbi David Nesenhoff approached Helen Thomas with the idea of asking for her views on Israel. During the impromptu interview Thomas stated flatly that Israel should get the hell out of Palestine and that the Palestinian people are occupied. She went on to further say that Israeli’s should return to their homes in Poland, Germany, and oh yeah…..America, indicating that the people and the Jewish state have no place in the Middle East.

Apparently Helen Thomas either didn’t know that the Jews and Israel have both been in that very region for as long as there have been other races there. It also seems to me that Thomas has no idea of the history of the Jews in Israel such as the fact that they were also an occupied people. Over the course of history Israel was occupied by Rome who ruled the Jewish people for hundreds of years. I also believe that Helen Thomas forgot the more than 6 Million Jews were murdered in Germany and Poland.

Now I have to tell you that I am a big supporter of both the Constitution and its 1st amendment. I not only fervently defend the right of individuals to freely express their personal views without persecution I also defend the same right for those in the press that is what the 1st amendment is all about. However what I will not defend is someone who is anti-semitic or racist. I am not sure if Helen Thomas is either one of these, but her comments definitely need to be scrutinized closely.

Since her controversial comments, Helen Thomas has resigned from Hearst Newspapers. Thomas has also repeatedly apologized for her comments and admits that they were offensive. The board of the White House Press Corps has not yet announced what actions they will take with regard to Thomas’s front row center seat in the White House briefing room. The board has also issued a statement that they do not police the speech of members or colleagues.

What ever else may happen to Helen Thomas because of her comments, there is this lesson to be learned. Those in the media should realize that while they may have the right to freely express their views and opinions, they would do well to remember that they will also have to deal with the consequences of their actions, for which they are solely responsible. This is often an expensive lesson to learn and all you have to do is look at the now disgraced Helen Thomas to see the cost.

That is all for now from Simple Man Politics. I hope you all have a marvelous day and I will be back again soon, CIAO4NOW!!!!!