Anti-Semitic journalist Helen Thomas retires

Not considered to be a a surprise but journalist Helen Thomas has retired as of today, and as such, the White House blasted her as they should.

Veteran journalist Helen Thomas announced Monday that she would retire immediately, amid a controversy over her comments that Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine" and go "home" to Germany, Poland and elsewhere, according to a report from her employer, Hearst News Service.[...]

Thomas, the daughter of Lebanese immigrants, has covered the White House for almost half a century -- mostly as bureau chief for United Press International, but in the past decade as a columnist for Hearst Newspapers. She is well known to the television-watching American public because for years she had the honor, as dean of the White House press corps, of asking the opening question at presidential news conferences.

After becoming a columnist, Thomas lost that privilege. But she continued to ask questions during televised news conferences and was often sharply critical of Israel -- so much so that the late Tony Snow, as press secretary for President George W. Bush, once dryly thanked her for offering up "the Hezbollah view."

On May 27, during a White House commemoration of Jewish Heritage Month, Thomas gave an impromptu interview to a Web site called RabbiLIVE.com. Asked about recent arrests of Palestinians by Israel, Thomas said Israelis should "get the hell of Palestine."

Nobody full of that much hate should be in a position to be a journalist, much less be able to cover news items objectively.