Helen Thomas Back: Returns To Journalism With Column In Virginia Paper

Helen Thomas is back at work--this time, with a column in a weekly Virginia newspaper.

Thomas was forced to resign last summer from her job as a columnist for Hearst after the controversy over her comments about Israel. But she has now secured a home for her weekly column in the Falls Church News-Press, which is located in Falls Church, Virginia.

In a statement, Nicholas Benton, owner and editor of the News-Press, said he had spoken with Thomas for over eight hours before deciding to take her on. He called her "progressive" and said that he is "firmly convinced that she is neither bigoted, nor racist, nor anti-Semitic."

Benton called Thomas' comments about Israel "intemperate and inappropriate," but said that they were "in response to a question about Israel, not Jews, and were intended to mean that in these times, Jewish people are free to live wherever they wish, because the era of anti-Jewish persecution is ended. That was not adequately expressed because of the impromptu nature of the incident."

Thomas did not issue a statement. Her first column for the News-Press focused on Social Security.

Comments

[Phyllis Weiss]

05:36 PM on 01/12/2011

Thomas earned that face........

[giantspaceship]

03:51 PM on 01/08/2011

Hidden History ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsDJ3YivBSA&feature=player_embedded

[Builders]

02:01 PM on 01/08/2011

Raise a cheer for freedom of speech, and for Helen Thomas who was victimized by terrorism but has been able to come back.

[JBCinSD]

11:43 AM on 01/08/2011

Welcome back. Your voice is too important to lose.

[RockyMissouri]

12:13 PM on 01/08/2011

Thank you for your voice.

[JoeLeftCoast]

09:38 PM on 01/07/2011

One for the good guys!!

[Earthling1125]

09:27 PM on 01/07/2011

So glad to see you back, Helen. We need more journalists of your caliber, talent, tenacity, and courage!

[RockyMissouri]

12:16 PM on 01/08/2011

Thank you for lending your voice to those who have none.

[Patricia Russell]

08:03 PM on 01/07/2011

Good to have you back Helen.

[LucidPanther]

08:02 PM on 01/07/2011

Too many people are thin-skinned and see bigotry where there is none. The media tends to conflate Israel with Jews and any criticism or condemnation of Israel is construed as antisemitic.

Zionism is not synonymous with Judaism. There are many Jews who are opposed to Zionism.

The media also has double standards and is inconsistent ; they will tolerate bigotry toward some groups and not toward others.

[RockyMissouri]

12:12 PM on 01/08/2011

Thank you for your voice.

[max08]

07:03 PM on 01/07/2011

YAY!

[Darren J Cohen]

05:40 PM on 01/07/2011

The era of anti-Jewsih persecution has ended? Oh, thank goodness. When was anyone going to tell me this? I guess my Jewish butt can finally move to my dream home in Iran now.

[stanblack]

08:40 PM on 01/07/2011

Puh-lease. Like you ever wanted to move to Iran...

[Soma99]

11:16 AM on 01/08/2011

Funny the Jewish community in Iran was offered money to move to Israel and the did not.

[FreeAmerican7]

04:30 PM on 01/07/2011

Helen Thomas has more courage than all the Journalists combined in stating that
European/A­merican/Ru­ssian/etc Zionist Jews should go back to their FIRST homes in
Europe/A­merica/Ru­ssia/etc so that the Palestinians whose
ONLY Homeland (OCCUPIED PALESTINE) can go back to their ONLY homes!
The mere fact that she was fired is ONE MORE PROOF of the Israeli CONTROL of the US News Media.

[enderM]

04:55 PM on 01/07/2011

that is pure ignorance. "palestinians" are arabs from surrounding countries, such as JORDAN,
syria, etc. while yes, some jews are from europe, the overwhelming majority of them are native to the ME. helen did not "differentiate", she stated that "they", as in all, should go home...and continued to rattle off the names of countries that sent jews to the g as ch am bers.

helen was not "fired", she retired. helen's AS remarks are not proof of anything, other than helen's own AS.

[JibberJabberwocky]

06:20 PM on 01/07/2011

"and continued to rattle off the names of countries that sent jews to the g as ch am bers"

America? America did that?

Why is this 'fact' not more widely publicised!?!

[Acid Monkey]

11:48 PM on 01/07/2011

"Fired", "Retired". Words words words. We all know what really happened. She didn't retire. If she's retired, then why is she back at work?

[BobVADemHawk]

08:44 AM on 01/08/2011

So, I suppose, you're ready to move back to Europe since we Americans took this continent from the Native Americans much like Israel did in 1948. Quite frankly, using your logic, the Israelis are more entitled to be where they are since they were there once before, as a state, over two millenia ago. We Americans cannot make that claim about North America.

Palestine is a terrorist quasi-state run by terrorists, namely Hamas and Hezbollah, and inhabited by terrorist sympathizers. Israel would do well to bulldoze the Gaza strip right into the Med and to finish the wall in the West Bank.

[Soma99]

11:17 AM on 01/08/2011

The ethnic cleansing of Palestine is no different, in essence, from the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous peoples who inhabited North America who were also dehumanized by the European settlers which, as with the Zionists, was a prerequisite for the massive crimes they were about to commit.

One may argue that at the time the North American continent was being settled, our species had not come to realize the inhumanity inherent in such actions but those Jews who dispossess ed the Palestinia ns in 1948, destroyed 500 of their villages, and forced over 750,000 of them to flee, have no such excuses. They had established their intent to do those very things years before the Nazi holocaust and thus neither they nor the state they worship have a moral leg to stand on.

There is another thing that both the American colonists and the Israelis have in common. They both wanted the world to believe that THEY were the victims.

[twoto2]

04:16 PM on 01/07/2011

Very good move Mr. Benton. Congrats Helen!!

[One more Thing]

06:55 PM on 01/07/2011

x2

[ASocialDemocrat]

03:20 PM on 01/07/2011

I salute the Falls Church News-Press! we need more papers like these in our country.

[RockyMissouri]

11:12 AM on 01/08/2011

Yes we do...!

[yumster]

02:25 PM on 01/07/2011

Welcome back, Helen. Thank you Nicholas Benton.

[One more Thing]

06:55 PM on 01/07/2011

Agree!!