White House Columnist Helen Thomas Resigns After Telling Jews 'Go Home'

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2010 -- Helen Thomas, a veteran columnist for Hearst Newspapers, announced her resignation today shortly after the White House condemned her remarks about Jews as "offensive" and "reprehensible."

Thomas caused an uproar with her recent remarks that Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine" and "go home" to Poland, Germany, America and "everywhere else."

"I think she should and has apologized," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said at the daily briefing today. "Obviously those remarks do not reflect, certainly, the opinion of, I assume, most of the people in here, and certainly not of the administration."

Since Thomas made the comments in a May 27 interview with RabbiLive.com, former U.S. officials and fellow columnists had called for her suspension from the White House press briefings, where she has her own front-row, center seat. Thomas, 89, is given special privileges due to her long-standing service as a journalist. She has covered every president since John F. Kennedy.

Today marked the first time a U.S. official condemned her comments. Gibbs called Thomas' remarks, "offensive and reprehensible." He said he not has directly spoken with President Obama about Thomas' comments.

Thomas' seat in the briefing room was empty today, as she did not show up for the daily briefing.

Since her remarks surfaced on the web in the past week, calls for Thomas to lose her privileged seat in the press room had mounted.

On Sunday, former Clinton special counsel and spokesman Lanny J. Davis became the latest former U.S. official to call on the White House to suspend Thomas' privileges in the White House press room, and for Hearst to consider a similar suspension of her position as a nationally syndicated columnist.

"Of course Helen has the right as a private citizen under the First Amendment to speak her mind, even as an anti-Jewish bigot, but not as a member, much less privileged member with a reserved seat, in the WH press corps," Davis wrote in a statement.

Also on Sunday, Thomas was dropped from her speaking agency, Nine Speakers, Inc. The agency's president Diane Nine issued a statement saying, "Ms. Thomas has had an esteemed career as a journalist, and she has been a trailblazer for women, helping others in her profession, and beyond. However, in light of recent events, Nine Speakers is no longer able to represent Ms. Thomas, nor can we condone her comments on the Middle East."

And a Bethesda, Md., high school canceled Thomas' scheduled June 14 graduation speech.

Walt Whitman High School's principal, Alan Goodwin, emailed students and parents on Sunday: "Graduation celebrations are not the venue for divisiveness."