Over a thousand people in one day sign petition opposing attack on Helen Thomas; Washington Post poll finds 91% support her

iPetition
Over a thousand people have signed a petition supporting Helen Thomas. The petition says:

We feel the massive attack on Helen Thomas has been excessive, extreme, and inconsistent with values that we believe are fundamental to our society: freedom of thought, an independent press, simple fairness and respect.

We don’t think it’s right to throw someone out after a lifetime of hard work.

We value the fact that Helen Thomas posed hard questions to politicians of both parties and feel that such journalism is essential to our country.

We hold diverse opinions on the content of Helen’s 26-second-long response to a stranger holding a camera in her face. All of us call for Helen Thomas to remain in journalism and retire when SHE chooses, not when her enemies decree it.

 Many people posted comments. Some signers felt she had made a mistake, but that her long years of work overshadowed this. The majority seemed to feel that she had simply spoken the truth.  Following is a sampling:

"60 years of journalisttic integrety marred by 26 seconds of candid opinion - Let the former stand for her reputation."

"I regret that Ms. Thomas apologized for her words. From the heart, they addressed the torment of the Palestinian people in the illegally Occupied Palestinian Territories. Zionists like Ari Fleischer deliberately misconstued her words to malign her and (not incidentally) to divert attention from the Israeli act of piracy on the high seas against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Barack Obama and all those genuflecting to the will of the psychosis into which Zionism has irretrievably fallen are hypocrites and, by association, criminal accomplices to ethnic cleansing and genocide. May Helen Thomas live long, write and speak out at will and without fear, and be blessed."

"I don't think it is right to throw Helen Thomas out after a lifetime of hard work. The Zionists in America have far too much power. This should and must come to an end. God bless Helen."

"I am 100% for free speech and 100% for Helen thomas. We need more journalists like her who are unafraid to bring up unpleasant news about iIsraeli occupation."

"We must keep those journalists who have the courage to put the interests of the US first and foremost; to hold ALL of our elected representatives accountable to follow the oaths of office they took when sworn in."

"Helen thomas - i congratulate you for your honesty - i laud you for your life's work ..."

"Helen Thomas is being persecuted for the crime of speaking the truth. Only when one speaks critically of Israel is the principle of freedom of speech ignored. Helen Thomas should be honoured and feted for her long lifetime of superior journalistic work and her courageous challenging of the government's policies -- exactly what journalists are paid to do and so few of them have the courage to do it."

"Shame on Ari Fleischer for his vendetta against one of the few U.S. journalists with integrity, shame on the U.S. press corps and body politic for falling in line like sheep. While I may disagree with the statement she made, its sentiment is understandable given the ravaging of Lebanon and Palestine, the many invasions and brutal occupation by the state of Israel whose Zionist leadership was composed mainly of European Jews."

"Turkey is a NATO country. The U.S. signed a treaty on hi-seas hijacking ... yet we do nothing. Somali pirates know how to take over a ship with no loss of life - The IDF does not. With the loss of Helen Thomas, the Israeli machine has free reign in the U.S."

"After watching the clip, it seemed obvious to me that she thought she was speaking to one person. The person(s) who blasted it all over inciting more adversity have done more harm. Helen is old and we senior citizens speak out minds more often I've noticed. Thank you to whoever is giving me this opportunity to defend Helen."

"Let him who is without sin throw the first rock."

"She was honest. Finally someone is."

A Washington Post poll asking "Should Helen Thomas be removed from the White House Press Room?" found that 91 percent of participants said no.

The petition includes links to articles critical of the attack on her from diverse standpoints. Following are excerpts from some of these:

Robert Scheer writes:

The media tirade against Helen Thomas is as illogical as it is hysterical. The few sentences uttered by her were, as she quickly acknowledged, wrong -- deeply so, I would add. But they cannot justify the road-rage destruction of the dean of the Washington press corps. Suddenly this heroic woman who broke so many gender barriers and dared to challenge presidential arrogance was reduced to nothing more than the stereotypical anti-Israel Arab that it is so fashionable to hate.

 Ellen Ratner says:

Helen Thomas has apologized and resigned. What more do people want?

I'm Jewish and a supporter of Israel.

I've known Helen Thomas since 1993. I've had dinner with her many times and I consider her a close friend.

If I had a dollar for every American who has said something in private about a racial, ethnic, or sexual minority in this country I would be a multimillionaire many times over.

Let's face it we all have said things -- or thought things -- about "other" groups of people, things that we would not want to see in print or on video. Anyone who denies it is a liar.

Helen is three months short of 90 and her brain's filters might not work as well as a 40-year-old's. Give her a break.

 Paul Findley writes:

Fearless, decent seeker-of-truth Helen Thomas, 89, the preeminent challenger of political power for a half-century as dean of White House correspondents, has resigned her position with Hearts Newspapers....

...True to her reputation, Thomas spoke up for human rights, the fundamental property rights of Palestinians that are violated at an ever-rising pace in Occupied Palestine by the government of Israel, with no serious opposition from the United States, Israel’s main benefactor. Thanks to an intimidated U.S. media, most Americans are unaware of the plight of Palestinians, who are all Arab and mostly Muslim. Almost all Jews who live in what is left of Palestine are euphemistically called “settlers” by U.S. media, not as unlawful occupiers. By residing in Palestine, they violate international law, Geneva Accords, and clear stipulations of the UN Charter...

This dark, undeserved cloud over the reputation of an unrelenting grand champion of human rights will have a silver lining if it awakens the American people to their own quiet, complicit role in Israel’s sustained violation of Palestinian rights. "

Alison Weir points out that the media had widely misportrayed Thomas's  remarks. For example, she reports that Thomas had never said the word "Jew." In addition, Weir  writes:

 "...the rage we see in the U.S. media is directed against none of this. People shot in the head, eyes and brain parts destroyed, the elderly beaten, small children and infants caused to suffer and die, parents to grieve – none of this has caused a hint of anger. In fact, most of it has been considered of too little importance even to report.

Instead, media reports are filled with outrage at “anti-Israel” words spoken by 89-year-old Helen Thomas....

...Many commentators evince particular anger at Thomas’s inclusion of Germany and Poland as places to which Israeli colonists should return, suggesting that Hitler is still in control and waiting to pounce.

The happy fact is, however, that World War II and the Nazi holocaust ended well over half a century ago. In Poland today there is a vibrant Jewish revival with a 10-foot tall Menorah being lit in the center of Warsaw during Hanukah, and Germany has become, according to the New York Times, “a country where Jews want to live.” In fact, in recent years more Jews have chosen to immigrate to Germany than to Israel.

Thomas’s call for colonists to return to America (this destination was left out of many articles) is far from outrageous given that a great many West Bank settlers are from the U.S."

Overall, reporting on the incident has largely departed from the standard journalistic practice of quoting people from both sides of an issue. Quotes from Thomas supporters are missing, even though the You Tube page featuring the infamous video contains a large number of comments supporting her. In contrast, quotes from Thomas’s detractors, almost all of them Zionists, are ubiquitous, but generally fail to divulge the speakers’ frequent conflicts of interest.

For example, the Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz quotes Jeffrey Goldberg without mentioning that Goldberg is an Israeli citizen who served as a prison guard at an Israeli prison that held hundreds of Palestinians without charge, some killed in cold blood by the prison commander.

Fox's Greta Van Susteren asks:

"...whether you think a correspondent who covered the White House going back to JFK should be honored in this way... whether you enjoy recognizing traditions ...or enjoy recognizing someone who has accomplished what no one else has ...is Helen the "Cal Ripken" of White House Correspondents?

The petition is still open for people to sign.