Reporter resigns after remarks on Israel

VETERAN White House correspondent Helen Thomas has retired after coming under fire for her remarks about Israel.

The retirement of the 89-year-old Thomas, the longest-serving reporter in the White House press corps, was announced by Hearst Corp, where she worked as a columnist.

Thomas, who served for decades as the White House correspondent for United Press International (UPI), apologised last week for the remarks she made about Israel during a May 27 Jewish Heritage Celebration at the White House.

Asked by RabbiLive.com whether she had any “comments on Israel,” Thomas replied: “Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine.

“Remember these people are occupied and it’s their land, not German and not Poland,” Thomas said. “They can go home, Poland, Germany, and America and everywhere else.”

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Monday described the remarks as “offensive and reprehensible” and Thomas issued an apology on her website, HelenThomas.org.

“I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians,” she said.

“They do not reflect my heartfelt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognise the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon,” Thomas said.

Thomas has covered every US president since John F Kennedy and is a former president of the White House Correspondents’ Association.