I don't understand the Liberal-Conservative context on this one either. Some Cons are Pro-Israel as are some Libs. Helen Thomas' parents were Lebanese immigrants from Tripoli, Lebanon. Would either a Lib or a Con support an American Indian telling Helen to go the hell back to Lebanon? Why not? It's the same thing. What Helen Thomas actually said is stupid. The idea that somehow the Israelis have no right to the land they now inhabit, and therefore no right to defend themselves and their acquired homeland, is ridiculous. Suppose rockets from an Indian Reservation were being launched from the reservation into an American city, killing innocent civilians? Regardless of the past history, involving Americans displacing said Indians and taking over their land by force, invading the attacking reservation and arresting and executing the criminal attackers would still be considered a justifiable reaction. Israel’s situation is no different.
After all, there are very few countries lacking a history similar in this respect. Every nation in North and South America displaced the native population and took over their land. Does this mean that they have no right to defend themselves from attack?
Human history is replete with examples of a weaker people being displaced by a stronger people, from Australia to Britain, and all points in between. In fact, this is a long established tradition of us Homo Sapiens, who began our dominance of the planet by wiping out all the Neanderthals and taking their lands. (While I am in no way comparing Palestinians to Neanderthals, one imagines the Neanderthals appealing to the UN!)
The other Arab countries also add to the problem by supporting the Hamas terrorists and refusing to resettle the Palestinians in their own countries. They would do this if they really cared about the Palestinians, but they do not. They only care about hating Jews.
The Palestinians, instead of whining about the lost battles of the past, should instead abandon the political leadership that has been unable to redress the situation through terrorism, and give good-faith negotiations a shot. The Israelis are not unreasonable, and would be perfectly willing to come to an equitable resolution of the regions difficulties, if they only had responsible Palestinian leaders to work with.
Helen Thomas, at 89 years old, is well past time when she should retire. It is a shame that such a long and distinguished career should be ended on such a sore note, but she is the one who answered the question in such an extraordinarily insensitive manner. For a long time now Thomas has been anything but a reporter, with views and opinions literally from another age.
Traditionally, the White House Press Corps has held a higher standard than radio talk show fellows and news broadcasters, or even columnists. Back in the newspaper days, being in the White House Press Corps was the pinnacle of success in the field. Times have certainly changed since Helen Thomas pulled her Model T up to the front door of the White House.
Perhaps this will bring back the debate as to whether the White House Press Corps should have only reporters, not columnists like Thomas or radio talk show trolls. The standard for who is allowed in the White House Press Corps needs to be brought back to what it used to be, an elite group of top-of-the-line reporters. Of course, the great reduction in quality in the White House Press Corps does match the downward trend in media reporting since the cable 'news' shows came into being. Now that 'news' is a for-profit venture, rather than a non-profit public service of the three networks, it is pitiful indeed. Imagine calling fellows like Beck and Olberman reporters. Let's just reserve seats for real reporters (if we can find any) from now on, shall we?
When the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto rebelled (even though the situations are hardly comparable), they armed themselves and fought against Nazi SOLDIERS, not innocent civilians. But the Palestinians do not fight according to the Geneva Convention, they fight as terrorists with suicide bombers, rocket attacks on civilians, and fake 'aid' convoys meant to create martyrs for propaganda. Let the Palestinians field an army and initiate combat. I would not deny the Palestinians the right to fight for land they consider theirs, but the Palestinians are too weak to win, so they whine to the world media instead. Public opinion rarely wins a war. The Turks should be ashamed that they have allowed Israel's enemies to mount such a cynical 'aid' mission. They have some 'splaining to do.
In conclusion, a sovereign state such as the US or Israel answers to no one but themselves. Only the weak, the senile, or those whose grasp of human history is mediocre at best, whine about it.
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