Helen Thomas Apologizes for Telling Jews To ‘Get the Hell Out of Palestine’

By JTA June 7, 2010

Veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas has apologized for saying that Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine.”

Thomas said Jews living in Israel should “go back home to Poland, Germany, America and everywhere else,” during videotaped remarks to Rabbi David Nesenoff of RabbiLive.com on the sidelines of the White House Jewish Heritage Day event on May 27.

The videotape of Thomas’ remarks had more than 900,000 views as of Sunday morning.

Thomas, who works for Hearst Newspapers, issued an apology last Friday.

“I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians,” she said in a written statement. “They do not reflect my heartfelt 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.”

Thomas, 89, is the daughter of Lebanese immigrants to the United States.

Read former White House correspondent Allison Kaplan Sommer’s Sisterhood post on Helen Thomas’ remarks here.

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