Still Festering
Reaction continues in wake of Helen Thomas' provocative remarks.
Don Cohen
Special to the Jewish News
T
he fallout from Wayne State
University alumni and journal-
ism icon Helen Thomas telling a
cultural education workshop in Dearborn
on Dec. 2 that "Congress, the White House
and Hollywood, Wall Street, are owned by
the Zionists" continued last week.
The conference, "Images and
Perceptions of Arab Americans, The
New America: Mom, Apple Pie and Arab
Bashing:' was presented by Arab Detroit,
founded by Warren David, president and
CEO of David Communications. Arab
Detroit seeks to promote an accurate
image of the Arab American community
and the Arab world.
Representatives
of the Council of
Arab American
Organizations (CAAO),
the umbrella for 24
local groups, met with
Wayne State University
administrators in
Helen Thomas
Detroit on Dec. 7 to
protest the announced
retirement of the Helen
Thomas Spirit of Diversity in the Media
Award, which was presented by faculty
in the Department of Communication's
Journalism Area. Protestors also ques-
tioned the WSU statement that called her
remarks anti-Semitic.
CAAO spokesperson Osama Siblani,
editor of the Arab American News,
amplified Thomas' remarks, saying: "We
believe the real problem here is that
some in the pro-Israeli community donor
base are doing what they do whenever
they can, which is silencing debate on the
subject of Israel!'
Imad Hamad, the director of the
American Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee in Michigan and a CAAO
executive committee member, also sup-
ported Thomas' statements. "She has
worked her entire career, 60 years, to
bring truth to the American public and
she is simply continuing to do that:' he
said.
Arab Detroit wrote on its website that
"CAAO warns that unless it is prop-
erly addressed and corrected, this hast-
ily made decision [to retire the Helen
Thomas Spirit of Diversity in the Media
8
December 16 • 2010
Award] will negatively impact relations
between the university and the Arab
American community for many years."
Nonetheless, Wayne State reaffirmed
its decision last Friday to retire the
award, though there remains a series of
endowed scholarships in her name at
WSU's Journalism Institute for Media
Diversity for students of all backgrounds.
Thomas, 90, a Winchester, Ky., native,
is the daughter of Lebanese immigrants
to the U.S. She grew up in Detroit and is a
1942 graduate of what is now Wayne State
University.
Thomas retired on June 7 after her
controversial May 27 remarks about
Israeli Jews were captured on videotape
by Rabbi David Nesenoff of RabbiLive.
corn and disseminated on the Internet.
She asserted that Jews should "get the hell
out of Palestine" and "go home to Poland,
Germany and America and everywhere
else!' She apologized via her website.
Sponsors Weigh In
This was the eighth time that Arab
Detroit has presented its conference,
which regularly attracts corporate and
other support; so the IN asked each one
to clarify their involvement and for com-
ment on Thomas' remarks.
Partnering organizations were the
Center for Arab American Studies at
the University of Michigan-Dearborn
and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan.
Sponsors included Comerica, DTE
Energy, National Guard-Michigan, Wayne
County Community College District
and three organizations from the Arab
American community: Arab Community
Center for Economic and Social
Services (ACCESS), American Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)—
Michigan and the American Syrian Arab
Cultural Association (ASACA).
None of the Arab American organiza-
tions responded to the JN inquiries. But
the Arab Detroit website has posted a
number of articles defending Thomas'
remarks. The ADC has circulated an
analysis that argues Thomas cannot be
anti-Semitic because she is racially a
Semite.
Equilla Wainwright, vice president for
diversity at Blue Cross/Blue Shield of
Michigan, told the JN in a statement, "As
with all events that the Blues sponsor, we
do not support or endorse the remarks
and/or ideas of the presenters!'
Comerica's vice president for corporate
communications, Kathleen Pitton, told
the JN: "Comerica did not have a speaker
at the workshop. As with any such event,
the bank has no approval over, or prior
review of, any remarks made by individ-
uals who are not employees of the bank."
DTE Energy's statement said, in part,
that it "had no input in the selection of
Helen Thomas as the keynote speaker;
and her comments by no means repre-
sent those of our company"
Chancellor Daniel Little of
UM-Dearborn wrote: "I want to make
it clear that, as with any such meet-
ing, the views expressed by the par-
ticipants do not represent the views of
UM-Dearborn. Furthermore, I must say
that I am personally disturbed by some
of Helen Thomas' remarks at the Dec. 2
workshop, which repeated stereotypes
about the American Jewish community
and undercut the atmosphere of mutual
understanding and respect we seek to
promote."
Efforts to reach a spokesperson at the
Michigan National Guard and the Wayne
County Community College District were
unsuccessful.
Jewish Response
Several Jewish organizations issued state-
ments about the controversy.
A statement from Richard Nodel, presi-
dent of the Jewish Community Relations
Council of Metropolitan Detroit, chal-
lenged Thomas' supporters. "For anyone
to suggest that the remarks ... were
merely legitimate criticisms of Israel, or
are anything but anti-Semitic, is simply
ridiculous ... Helen Thomas' speech
should be condemned by all who reject
hatred and bigotry as part of our public
discourse; and her supporters, who are
defending the remarks, should re-think
their position:' the statement said.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
welcomed Wayne State's decision and
ramped up its efforts to have others
cancel awards honoring Thomas. Betsy
Kellman, director of the ADL Michigan
Region, said in a statement, "No academ-
ic institution or professional organization
should want to be connected to Helen
Thomas after the outrageous anti-Semit-
ic remarks she made to a public forum.
We hope that other journalism schools
and professional organizations that have
similarly honored Thomas in the past
will follow suit and distance themselves
from this unrepentant bigot."
Nationally, ADL has now focused on
the Society of Professional Journalists,
which annually presents the Helen
Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award.
StandWithUs, the Los Angeles-based
international Israel advocacy and educa-
tion organization with a volunteer-run
Michigan office, said the WSU action
retiring the Helen Thomas Spirit of
Diversity in the Media Award "is uphold-
ing bedrock American values!'
"We are gratified that Wayne State
is drawing a clear line in the sand
against the anti-Semitic stereotypes and
anti-Israel lies that seem to be edging
from the radical fringes into ordinary
American discourse, especially on our
campuses:' it said.
Challenging statements by Thomas
and some of her defenders, StandWithUs
said, "The effort to revive anti-Semitic
stereotypes, to rewrite history and the
meaning of terms runs counter to all that
America stands for. Wayne State deserves
high praise for setting clear standards for
its journalism students and for standing
up against bigotry and prejudice that will
only undermine our universities and our
society"
Answering
Israel's Critics
The Charge
Former Hearst Newspapers reporter
Helen Thomas said Dec. 2 that Zionists
control Congress, the White House,
Hollywood and Wall Street.
The Answer
Thomas' defenders say she is just criti-
cizing Israel and its supporters. But by
generalizing, stereotyping and conspir-
acy-making, she has crossed the line
toward anti-Semitism. For more on
this issue, go to www.adl.org/PresRele/
ASUS_12/5929_12.htm.
- Allan Gale
Jewish Community Relations Council
of Metropolitan Detroit
© Jewish Renaissance Media • December 16, 2010