Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Nice to see an icon of the lefty media doing even more to expose herself as a demented antisemite. Now just to wait for someone on here to defend her remarks.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

For the record, Israel doesn't have "Jew only roads," they have Israeli only roads.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

They have Apartheid Occupier-Only roads.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Is there a difference?

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Yes, conservatively speaking, 20% of Israel's population is not Jewish.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

..and this 20% does not encompass "secular jews"?

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

There are 1,523,900 Arab citizens in Israel.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

No, definitely not.

There are about 1.3 million Israeli-Arab citizens of Israel who are Muslim (mostly) and Christian. Also, throw in an at least 1/3 of the original 1 million Soviet immigrants who are either non-Jewish family members of an immigrant Jew or "Jews" by virtue of having (maybe) 1 Jewish grandparent. There are also descendants of Jews who have intermarried and long ago renounced the religion. Finally, there are also small numbers of other naturalized non-Jews and immigrant workers from Thailand, Philipines, etc. whose citizenship is under dispute.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

That sounds like a revolution awaiting to happen. Could it be that Jews were able to keep their nation for so many centuries while they didn't have a territory, but now that they have one they are so fragmented? I mean, it's only expected that multiculturalism would occur sooner or later. That's the reality that they need to face in order to be able to redefine an Israeli identity.

Sorry for the rambling, but I wasn't aware of the diversity of population beyond different country origins and varieties of practice within Judaism.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

zionists are not only jews. many christians are zionists - not to mention rastafarians.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Er, what's your point? No shit there are lots of people who are zionists who aren't jews. I'm an athiest and a zionist. Who said anything to the contrary? And what does this have to do with Helen Thomas being an anti-semite?

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Your melodrama on this subject makes you hard to engage and take seriously Wonderment.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

In the material cited, she never said a word about Jews. How then is she an anti-Semite?

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Right. The current Zionist model is anachronistic, racist and unsustainable.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Um

"I can call a president of the United States anything in the book but I can't touch Israel, which has Jewish-only roads in the West Bank,"

Maybe she meant to say "Zionist only." But it again illustrates that for Helen Thomas and other antisemites, "Jew" and "Zionist" are interchangeable. They're careful to hide their ugly, bigoted face behind the more accepted "Zionist" most of the time, but like Jeremiah Wright, every once in a while it just slips. And then we see that those tired, bigoted tropes--The Jooooos control Hollywood, Wall Street, American policy, etc. are all there. You can't just substitute in "Zionist" and think that you can deny antisemitism, especially when the veneer lifts. Just like Jooooos won't let Wright see Obama, oh I'm sorry he meant Zionists. I'm sure she meant "Zionist only roads." Too bad they're identical terms in her lexicon.

Time to stop defending antisemites.

Wonderment, I remember you writing that you think the US should not have stopped Nazi Germany. You also wrote that you think it would have been right for you to have taken up arms against Zionists, if you would have had the opportunity. Why are your fellow Jews worse than Nazis in your eyes? This reeks of a suicidal mindset.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

I do think WWII could and should have been avoided, but I never said it was right for me to take up arms against anyone, hypothetically or any other way. You are mistaken about that. In fact, it's a crazy idea. On whose behalf would I have fought Zionism? As an uprooted Palestinian?

Moving on, it's insulting that you would claim that I favor Nazis over Jews. Nazism was a perverse and detestable ideology that culminated in the mass murder of millions of people. You are being extremely childish with such an accusation, and I wouldn't bother responding except to remind you to think a little before you post.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Ah, my apologies. I could've sworn that you had written that "militant Zionism" was a cause worth fighting militarily.

I wouldn't suggest that you were in any way sympathetic to Nazis, certainly. I'm just utterly perplexed at the depth of your disgust toward Zionism.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Well, make up your mind. Which do you want?

What's the point of inviting discussion if as soon as someone accepts, you tell him to shut up?

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Thank you.

I'm equally perplexed at the depth of your sympathy toward Zionism.

Having said that, my view, as a non-Zionist, is that Zionism is obsolete. Israel needs to become a post-Zionist country. That is what's good for the Jewish people.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

You're going to complain about me monitoring your behavior again, but you do this all the time. "I can already hear the wingnuts furiously pounding their keyboards..."

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Anticipating a likely idiotic response, especially with a tone of humor, is not the same as telling people to STFU. And to the degree that I am not just mocking, and that there is a serious intent underlying, it could be put this way: "I already know what the stock answer is. Show me something more interesting."

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

I wasn't inviting people to defend her, because I think her statements are indefensible. I was observing that there are some people who will persist on defending her. I'd much rather that everyone realize that she is a nasty, bigoted, terrible person.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Oh, crap. You posted your provocative statements in an open forum. Of course you were inviting responses, especially of a contradictory nature. And if you don't realize that, you're really hurting.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

I was hoping that'd come from folks saying "no we're not going to defend her."

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

There are a lot of nasty people in the world. The fact that you chose her as a spokesperson against Zionism was odd to begin with. Why not choose someone with serious ideas to debate, perhaps someone who has written a good book on the subject?

Thomas is an eccentric 90-year-old who has been caricatured and patronized by the current president and his two predecessors. She is known mainly for breaking the glass ceiling of the male presidential press corps and for longevity. That's all.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

If it's an echo chamber you seek, you'd be better off looking elsewhere.

I don't actually believe you're not smart enough to realize that the Bhtv community isn't populated only with people who are going to applaud your pronouncements and accept them without question. Therefore, it seems you are either being disingenuous at this moment, or you have forgotten why you came here in the first place.

P.S.
 

Happy Birthday!

Re: P.S.
 

Awwww!

Great pic.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

I guess the same reason bj has an obsessively maintained thread on Sarah Palin ;)

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Like your Sarah Palin thread :o

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Apples and oranges. Sarah Palin is a serious contender for the Republican nomination for president in 2012. She deserves a lot of critical attention.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Fair enough. I'm not a huge fan of either, personally, but I certainly see the distinction.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Appreciate it.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

No. Anyone who wants is welcome to dispute what I post there. I don't put up the items I do merely to get people to clap along.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Correct.

I'd also say it's hardly "obsessively maintained," as the operative would have it. I am not sure of the limitations of his skills, but I would have thought the notion of cutting and pasting occasional items as one happens across them would not have seemed to him to be such an arduous task.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Yes, this is a forum loaded with Palin advocates.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

I think anyone deserves criticism when they spout something worthy of criticism, whether they're a political celebrity or a journalist.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Getting back to the broader topic, since the thread got a little bit off track. In terms of whether Thomas is an anti-semite, that doesn't seem like a debate we're equipped to adjudicate. My issue comes from the framing. It seems like the problematic thing here is that she frames the people who run the government as zionists first, rather than people who do other things, and happen to be zionists. I think when you make it seem like zionism is so incredibly central to their worldview, it feeds a darker narrative about Jews controlling things that has been around for too long. Liberals (correctly in some cases) say conservatives are obtuse and insensitive to matters of racism. I think there are cases when liberals are obtuse and insensitive about anti-semitism sometimes. That doesn't mean that they're anti-semites, anymore than all conservatives are racists, but it's part of a mindset and has to do with frames of mind. Curious to hear what you all think of this.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

That's a compelling way to consider your difficult question. My immediate reaction is that you have to be right in a general sense. But as to the case specifically or with certain individuals, it becomes a greater challenge. Helen Thomas would be a good example of your point, even though you concede that you can't claim her to be an anti-semite conclusively. You've created a riddle of sorts.

Re: Helen Thomas: 'Jews control teh world!'
 

Exactly.

And I hope everyone will respond to my upcoming "Who Defends Child Molesters ?" Thread.

It should be fascinating.