Helen Thomas to Retire

[cinyc]

Hey Roch, I do oppose settelements. Am I an anti-semite?

If you oppose the existence of Israel and think the Jews should go back to Germany and Poland, where they were slaughtered in the millions by Hitler and his minions, then yes, you are an anti-Semite.  Just like Helen Thomas.  Good riddance to her!

[cinyc]

What if she said to send African-Americans back to Africa?

There's a bit of a difference considering the circumstances that lead African-Americans to be in this country versus the circumstances that lead Israelis to being in Israel.

Yeah, that holocaust is sooooo overrated.  And of course we all know there were no Jewish folks in the region at the time of Israel's creation, too.

[cinyc]

Hey Roch, I do oppose settelements. Am I an anti-semite?

If you oppose the existence of Israel and think the Jews should go back to Germany and Poland, where they were slaughtered in the millions by Hitler and his minions, then yes, you are an anti-Semite.  Just like Helen Thomas.  Good riddance to her!

Wow that's funny.

No, I don't oppose existence of Israel, I oppose new settelements. But if I opposed existence of Israel, would that make me an anti-semite?

There is an "and" in my sentence.  Opposing the existence of Israel comes very close to the line, though.

[cinyc]

Opposing the existence of Israel comes very close to the line, though.

How so? Unless you mistakenly think that Jews depend on Israel in some substantial way.

Israel is not just some multi-cultural country full of atheist Finns, Swedish Lutherans, Italian Catholics and Japanese Shintoists.  It's the Jewish homeland with an Arab minority.  Many (but not all) people who oppose the existence of Israel do so because they simply hate Jews.

[cinyc]

Ah the world's greatest democracy can't even allow freedom of speech to prevail in the personification of its power.

Has Helen Thomas been arrested?!

No, but the condemnation seems as though she had been.

Hint:  The First Amendment doesn't protect someone expressing abhorrent views from public scorn and ridicule.  In fact, it equally protects that scorn from government suppression.   

I don't mind idiots like Helen Thomas from making their abhorrent views known.  At least I know who the anti-Semites are.

[cinyc]

Just because you oppose Israel, or my case the recent actions of the Israeli government, does not mean you are an anti-Semite.

It makes you more likely to be one.  Almost all anti-Semites oppose Israel, but not all who oppose Israel are anti-Semites.  Someone who opposes Israel and says the Jews should go back from where they came, including countries in which millions of their relatives were slaughtered IS an anti-Semite.