Jim Stillman
NevarThe real problem with Helen Thomas
June 12th 2010 10:55
Helen Thomas has resigned, under fire, as a columnist for Hearst, under pressure for making a statement that is consistent with her well known anti-Jewish opinions. There are those who raise First Amendment rights that are being infringed but, of course, the Constitution’s guarantee of free speech only applies to governmental action; Hearst has every right to fire Ms Thomas and it acted correctly. Not because Ms Thomas doesn’t like Jewish people in general and Israelis in particular, but because she demonstrated an ignorance of history.
There is a saying that everyone has a right to his or her opinion; one does not have a right to his or her facts.
Ms Thomas brought the storm by her statement that conflict in the Middle East would be resolved if only the Jews left Palestine and returned to their homelands, Germany and Poland and the United States. It was a stupid and insensitive statement; old people often speak thoughts out loud that would have been left unspoken when they were younger. But even if Ms Thomas’ statement were a reflection of her hatred of Jews, she can believe whatever the Hell she wants. In the real world, her opinions matter not a whit.
Her statements, however, go beyond hateful. They reflect an ignorance of historical facts.
The historical facts explain much about why Jews (in particular) are supportive of Israel. This does not mean that policies of the Israeli government are never to be criticized, far from that. History, however, does explain why the existence and survival of the State of Israel must be safeguarded.
Ms Thomas urges Israeli Jews to “return to their homelands” such as Germany and Poland. Have we forgotten the reasons why the pre-World War II Jewish population of about nine million people had been reduced to about two million? The Nazi regime’s program of genocide murdered approximately seven million men, women and children because of their Jewish ethnicity. In addition, others were systematically killed, including ethnic Poles, Romani, Soviet civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, disabled and retarded people, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other political and religious opponents. By this definition, the total number of Holocaust victims would be between 11 million and 17 million people!
Is there any wonder why those Jews who survived and made it to Palestine and created Israel left Europe?
The defeat of Nazi Germany did not change the realization that Jews had no European “homeland”. Ms Thomas’ suggestion is that Jews should return to their old communities; many Jews did attempt to "go home" to Poland. This resulted in the murder of about 1,500 of them -- killed not by Nazis but by Poles. They were met with violence and hatred. Some of the reaction was the result of centuries of anti-Semitism; some was caused by the people who had stolen Jewish assets and homes during the war and were unwilling to take the chance that the property and homes would be returned.
A not uncommon situation occurred in the community of Kiecle, Poland. About 200 Holocaust survivors had returned to their community from Nazi concentration camps. On July 4th, 1946, over a year after the defeat of Germany, a mob of local people, including police and military, incited by tales of child kidnapping and human sacrifice by Jews, murdered or injured about one-half of the newly “returned” Jews.
Throughout Europe, Jews who wanted to return to their homes were met with hostility; they ended up in “”displaced persons” camps. It was this situation that moved President Truman to join the push for the creation of the Israeli state.
Helen Thomas is entitled to her bigoted beliefs; she has the right to dislike Jews. She has no intellectual right to ignore the facts.
She may never support the state of Israel but perhaps if she were more knowledgeable, she would at least understand why many people do.
There is a saying that everyone has a right to his or her opinion; one does not have a right to his or her facts.
Ms Thomas brought the storm by her statement that conflict in the Middle East would be resolved if only the Jews left Palestine and returned to their homelands, Germany and Poland and the United States. It was a stupid and insensitive statement; old people often speak thoughts out loud that would have been left unspoken when they were younger. But even if Ms Thomas’ statement were a reflection of her hatred of Jews, she can believe whatever the Hell she wants. In the real world, her opinions matter not a whit.
Her statements, however, go beyond hateful. They reflect an ignorance of historical facts.
The historical facts explain much about why Jews (in particular) are supportive of Israel. This does not mean that policies of the Israeli government are never to be criticized, far from that. History, however, does explain why the existence and survival of the State of Israel must be safeguarded.
Ms Thomas urges Israeli Jews to “return to their homelands” such as Germany and Poland. Have we forgotten the reasons why the pre-World War II Jewish population of about nine million people had been reduced to about two million? The Nazi regime’s program of genocide murdered approximately seven million men, women and children because of their Jewish ethnicity. In addition, others were systematically killed, including ethnic Poles, Romani, Soviet civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, disabled and retarded people, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other political and religious opponents. By this definition, the total number of Holocaust victims would be between 11 million and 17 million people!
Is there any wonder why those Jews who survived and made it to Palestine and created Israel left Europe?
The defeat of Nazi Germany did not change the realization that Jews had no European “homeland”. Ms Thomas’ suggestion is that Jews should return to their old communities; many Jews did attempt to "go home" to Poland. This resulted in the murder of about 1,500 of them -- killed not by Nazis but by Poles. They were met with violence and hatred. Some of the reaction was the result of centuries of anti-Semitism; some was caused by the people who had stolen Jewish assets and homes during the war and were unwilling to take the chance that the property and homes would be returned.
A not uncommon situation occurred in the community of Kiecle, Poland. About 200 Holocaust survivors had returned to their community from Nazi concentration camps. On July 4th, 1946, over a year after the defeat of Germany, a mob of local people, including police and military, incited by tales of child kidnapping and human sacrifice by Jews, murdered or injured about one-half of the newly “returned” Jews.
Throughout Europe, Jews who wanted to return to their homes were met with hostility; they ended up in “”displaced persons” camps. It was this situation that moved President Truman to join the push for the creation of the Israeli state.
Helen Thomas is entitled to her bigoted beliefs; she has the right to dislike Jews. She has no intellectual right to ignore the facts.
She may never support the state of Israel but perhaps if she were more knowledgeable, she would at least understand why many people do.
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