This whole ridiculous forced retirement of award winning accomplished journalist, Helen Thomas, not only declares a sad day in journalism, but also a sad day in the American constitution that touts “freedom of speech” & in particular to the well known yet unspoken biased foreign policy between America & Israel, as we put ourselves in the middle of so called trying to broker peace in the middle east. America has acted more like the wicked stepmother who favors her own bilogical children over her stepchild than the wise judge in the Judgement of Solomon. Israel has shown its true feelings toward keeping the peace with Palestinians as they shun their own peace agreement and would rather become a nation denounced by the world than concede to peaceful sharing  & division of the land.  America & most of the world preaches that a man is only as good as his word & Prime Minsiter Benjamin Netanyahu has shown himself not to be a man of his word & even more in recent months as an antagonist toward American foreign policy rather than true allies based in a mutual friendship that gives millions of dollars in American aid to Israel annually, just to have him unapologetically turn his nose up to any demands for peace. If President Obama wants to talk tough & showcase himself as a strong leader of the freedom & justice that America is supposed to represent & looking for whose “ass to kick” as he unpresidentially put it – the world at large can give him a suggestion or two!

It is so ridiculous how it seems America has accepted that Israel is beyond reproach no matter what they do because everything is taken as anti-Semitism, but people forget that Arabs are Semites too, so shouldn’t all the wrongful & rightful negativity against them be shouted as anti-Semitism as well? The German Nazis stripped Jews of their homeland in Russia, Poland & Germany & executed them during the holocaust, so why do Palestinians have to pay for it? It baffles me that those who suffer such atrocity will then turn around & perpetuate the same type of atrocity on someone else & somehow justify it in their minds. This happens time and time again between different or same races, ethnicities, religions, tribes etc. where we learn from our oppressors to oppress others. This is why the world is so hypocritical when we all say “never again” after every genocide, slavery, holocaust, apartheid & occupation. Just because it is Israel & America as the perpetrators doesn’t redefine the term “occupation“. Just because it is Israel & not South Africa does not redefine the term “Apartheid“.

Helen Thomas issued the following statement today: “I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt 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.”

“Our commitment & our responsibility is to stand up for those rights that should be universal to all human beings that includes the right to speak freely to assemble without fear the right to the equal administration of justice & to express your views without facing retribution against you or your families…”

I am sure Helen Thomas would like to ask President Obama why her freedom of speech shouldn’t have the same protections as he wishes for Iranians. Helen Thomas probably should have retired already, but this is such a sad way for such an accomplished journalist to go out- but then again maybe it’s the best way because the person that once reported the news ended her career being the news!  She has earned her name being written in history in every way, so it is up to her to see the glass as half empty or half full from here on. Her remarks may have been rightfully taken as insensitive & unacceptable because they were sound bites that were not fully explained -particularly since it was made to a Rabbi at a Jewish Heritage Month celebration; however I am really surprised  that no one, not even the president of the free world , who a year ago stood up for the freedom of speech of Iranian journalists & citizens isn’t acknowledging that whether they agree with Miss Thomas or not, she as an American has the right to free speech and surely doesn’t warrant being forced to resign.

BP has caused perhaps the worst environmental disaster in American history & we are not looking to oust them from ever doing business in America again; Israel has massacred a ship full of activists bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza & we give them the benefit of the doubt to seek justification before even remotely speaking against it; yet a veteran white house journalist must be forced to step down because she has an opinion that many in the world share about Israel’s occupation & subsequent apartheid practices toward Palestinians.  What exactly did she say that was so out of line & untrue?  How does occupying Palestinian homeland after fleeing from the holocaust serve as some sort of justifiable reparations for Jews who were not living in Palestinian territory until after WWII? Aren’t there more Jews in Europe & America who call Europe & America their home than in Israel? The Jews who occupy the Palestinian territory are from Europe & America, they had to flee from the holocaust & were subsequently relocated to Egypt, France & other countries that took them in after WWII & finally because of Jewish displacement the state of Israel was created in 1948 as a Jewish settlement. The same continuation in history that allows new nations to be built & settled in places where people already reside.  Helen Thomas is older than the state of  Israel  & as a Lebanese descendant she has witnessed her fellow Middle Eastern people suffer  at the hands of Israel, so why is she not allowed to have an opinion?  We can not rewrite history as it suits us -even though in America in the great state of Texas we have proven otherwise.

I believe that at this point many Jews have only known Israel as home & should not be forced out just as the Palestinians should not be forced into cramped plots of land & forced to live under an Israeli form of apartheid. We all forget that there was a period of time when Jews & Palestinians coexisted peacefully in the same land. Jews & Palestinians need to find that peaceful coexistence in mutual freedom once again, as America is going to have to come to terms & coexist with its Mexican & other immigrants who lay historical claim to the same land originally inhabited by Native American Indians who they have found a way to coexist with. Just like the growing pains of America, South Africa & so many other nations who have gone through wars, occupations & take overs of land if the mutual desire & will for peace & coexistence is there then you will eventually attain it.

I really hope this fiasco with Helen Thomas wakes up America and the world to truly evaluate America’s foreign policy & its unbending favoritism of Israel when it comes to the so called brokering peace in the Middle East & the global struggle for natives to claim the land that has been taken away from them. America can not be so one sided and expect anyone to take America seriously as a mediator. I do not believe in the ridiculous acts of terrorism on either side, whether it is perpetuated by Israelis or by Palestinians or other Arabs/Muslims in solidarity with Palestine. This type of American bias is what breeds & festers empathy amongst Arabs and Muslims around the world in solidarity against America and her allies. Wrong is wrong & no nation, man, nor religion should ever be above reproach if we truly seek peace in the world! The global blanket of hypocrisy must end!

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, under extraordinary pressure from the Obama administration to curb the construction of Jewish housing in Jerusalem, served notice on Monday that his government would not yield easily to American demands.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the gala banquet of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annual policy conference on Monday night. In a speech to a pro-Israel lobbying group, Mr. Netanyahu reiterated that Israel had no plans to freeze housing in Jerusalem, the trigger for a recent dispute between Israel and the United States. He rejected the administration’s contention that Israel’s policies were impeding the peace process…”Read More

We are too intertwined globally to continually use the boycott method we need to find real lasting solutions for peace!

At The end of it all everyone wants their Promise land