Melançon Enterprises • a multidivision multinational since 1980

Helen Thomas is more than politically savvy enough to know that resigning now and letting Israel's right-wing lobby take credit for forcing the end to her career does far more damage to their cause of Uncriticizable Israel than anything else she could do.

As far as the unforgivable comment goes, neither she nor any other person seriously interested in peace means what she said. The sentiment, of course, is real, and as i have heard many times from Jews and non-Jew friends (no idea how publicly though), the question "why can't the surrounding Arab countries absorb all the (non-Jewish, i guess) Palestinians?", her comment that Israeli Jews could go back to Europe or the U.S. is not beyond the pale at all.

Except, of course, in officially accepted discourse. Which is losing its legitimacy along with the Israeli government's.

I hope there's no dangerous new wave of hatred against Jews, because at the rate Israel's going it'll be in no position to provide a safe place for anyone. Unless, and this is fairly likely, all us Semites (Arabs, Jews, and all) are turned on together, and we are finally forced to get along to withstand the prejudice of the rest of the world.