Thank You, Helen Thomas

David C. Stolinsky, MD
June 10, 2010

Many people were disturbed and angered when Helen Thomas, the dean of the White House press corps, was videoed making an anti-Semitic rant. When asked for her ideas on what the Israelis should do, she replied without hesitation that the Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine” and go “home” to Germany and Poland.

She was only a bit more restrained than the radio operator on one of the ships bound for Gaza. When Israeli officials ordered the ships to go to an Israeli port to be inspected, the reply was, “Go back to Auschwitz.”

Moreover, Thomas ignored the fact that at least half of Israelis are refugees, or are descended from refugees, not from Europe but from Muslim nations, from which they were forced to flee. Of course, Thomas and those who think like her are concerned only with Muslim refugees.

Regrettably, many other people were not disturbed or angered by Thomas’s remarks. In fact, they couldn’t have agreed more. As a rough guess, I would estimate that perhaps one-quarter of Americans − including many “liberals” − plus at least three-quarters of Europeans would agree with Thomas. They might not feel free to express their agreement openly, as did neo-Nazi websites, but they would agree.

The Jews, after all, can be a lot of trouble. Here we come to a crucial question: If people seem to be pursued by trouble, is it because (1) the people themselves cause trouble, or (2) other people cause them trouble?

But in order to ask this question, we need a moral foundation. We need to be able to distinguish attackers from defenders, and persecutors from victims. We need to go beyond the thinking of a hall monitor in middle school − “I don’t care who started it; you’re both going to the principal’s office.”

We need to make moral distinctions. And even more, we need to want to make moral distinctions. We need to recognize that there are moral distinctions. But today, many people were taught not to be “judgmental.” They believe themselves exempt from the responsibility for making moral distinctions.

Israel forcibly removed all Jews from the Gaza Strip, making it judenrein, as the Nazis termed it. But the Palestinians showed their gratitude by firing over 4000 rockets into Israel. Now Israel is searching all ships going into Gaza for weapons, just as all nations perform customs inspections of incoming items. But this is called a “blockade.”

When customs agents check your bags at an airport or seaport, is this a “blockade”? And if you try to evade the inspection and assault the agents, what do you suppose would happen to you?

When people try to crash through the U.S. border, this is called a crime, and U.S. agents open fire. But when a ship tries to evade Israeli inspection, this is called “humanitarian aid.” And when people on a ship attack Israeli troops with pipes, knives and guns, and the Israelis respond with gunfire, this is called an “atrocity.”

Once again, the Jews are “causing trouble.” But are they? Or are they merely trying to remain alive, and those who want to kill them are causing the trouble? How we answer this question reveals much about our moral and intellectual well-being.

Some elderly people develop dementia. But others simply feel free to say what they have been thinking for years. I believe Helen Thomas is in the latter category. I believe she finally feels free to vent her anti-Jewish feelings, which she shares with many Americans and most Europeans. What is the basis of this longstanding antipathy against Jews?

● In part, the basis of the hatred is religious. This is true for extremist Muslims, who repeat what their radical imams teach them. But it is also true for many others, whether they are Christians or even atheists. Only blatant anti-Semites call Jews “Christ-killers,” but that primitive notion may still be operating subconsciously in people who are unaware of it. Of course, Jesus, all 12 disciples, three of the four evangelists, as well as St. Paul were Jews themselves, and Jesus was executed by the Romans. But facts are a weak antidote for deeply entrenched hatreds.

● In part, the basis of the hatred is psychological. Jews are resented for the same reason that police officers are resented. They are visible reminders that there are rules, in an era that scorns rules. Many people no longer believe that the Lord wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets and gave them to Moses. But they still may feel uncomfortable when confronted by reminders of the eternal laws that govern us all.

● In part, the basis of the hatred is habit. Since the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and drove most (not all) the Jews out of Israel, the Jews have been a convenient target. Whenever princes or politicians got into trouble, they could deflect blame onto the Jews. Besides, it was safe. If you cartooned Jews, they would not start bloody riots and attack you. If you made a film critical of Jews, they would not murder you in the street. If you irritated Jews, they would not crash airliners into office towers. And after two millennia of practice, Jew-haters got really good at it.

● In part, the basis of the hatred is expediency. In years past, Jews were expelled by princes, who confiscated their property. More recently, the property of the six million murdered in the Holocaust was confiscated by the Nazis. Hitler was emboldened to initiate the Holocaust by noting that the Armenian genocide evoked little reaction from the world. And now the Iranians, Hezbollah and Hamas are emboldened to initiate Holocaust 2 by noting the feeble reaction evoked by Holocaust 1. Why shouldn’t sociopaths conclude that murdering Jews can be both profitable and relatively safe?

● And in part, the basis of the hatred is laziness. If a kid in the schoolyard is being picked on, the moral solution is to prevent bullying and punish the bullies. But the easy solution is to transfer the kid who is being bullied: “Get rid of the victim, get rid of the problem”. Is Israel being attacked? Imagine a world without Israel. Is Iran developing nukes? Imagine a world without Israel.

Of course, nuclear weapons in the hands of madmen and religious fanatics make the world intolerably dangerous. So we’ll have to do something − but after Tel Aviv and Haifa are reduced to radioactive slag. And then we can react to Holocaust 2 the same way we reacted to Holocaust 1 − cry bitter tears after it’s too late, and give cocktail parties to collect money for the few survivors. Yes, that will make us feel really self-righteous.

Helen Thomas is on her way to well-deserved obscurity. But she has earned our thanks for stating frankly what is in so many minds. Now we can look at ourselves in the mirror she held up, and decide whether we like what we see there.

Dr. Stolinsky writes on political and social issues. Contact: dstol@prodigy.net.

www.stolinsky.com