Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

 
Israelis Should Get Out of Palestine, Go Back to Poland and Germany,

Said US Journalist Helen Thomas,

Who Died on July 20, 2013

Helen Thomas speaking at ADC event	Covering White House news from Kennedy to Obama (with Johnson above)

ADC Mourns The Loss of Helen Thomas

July 20, 2013 | www.ADC.org |

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) joins all Americans in mourning the loss of Helen Thomas, our beloved Arab American hero, preeminent journalist, and advocate. Helen passed away today at the age of 92. ADC extends its sympathy to the family of Helen Thomas on behalf of our members and supporters. 

ADC National President Warren David said today: "It is with great sadness that we received the news of Helen's passing. Helen was a great friend of ADC and our community at large. She was not only a hero for the Arab American community, she was also a legendary figure for women, journalists, and all Americans. ADC is very proud that we had the privilege of highlighting her contributions and achievements throughout her career."

Helen was the first female journalist who broke all barriers for women. She was the first woman to interview a President, and indeed interviewed all Presidents from President Kennedy to President Obama. She was the first woman to be President of the White House Correspondents Association. Helen exposed the Watergate scandal when Martha Mitchell, wife of the Attorney General called her and gave her inside information. She covered Presidents not only at news conferences, but traveled with them throughout the United States and the world. President Nixon chose her as the only print journalist to accompany him on his historic trip to China.

In 2010, ADC honored Helen for her service to our country as a trailblazing journalist who covered the White House for over sixty years. The event celebrating her work can be seen here. Helen was a recipient of many ADC Awards, and she also spoke multiple times at our National Conventions where her speech inspired attendees of all generations.

Helen was born in Kentucky, the seventh of the ten children of George and Mary Thomas, immigrants from Lebanon. Her father's surname, "Antonious," was anglicized to "Thomas" when he entered the U.S. at Ellis Island. Helen was raised mainly in Detroit, Michigan, where her family moved when she was four years old, and where her father ran a grocery store. She attended public schools and decided to become a journalist while she was in high school. She enrolled at Wayne State University, in Detroit, receiving a bachelor's degree in English in 1942.

Known as the "Dean" of the White House Press Corps, Helen covered the White House news for 49 years and reported on every U.S. president from John Kennedy to Barack Obama. She was known for her straight-to-the-point questioning of presidents and press secretaries. ADC is indebted to her for her integrity as she rightfully questioned public officials over the years -- especially regarding issues of utmost importance to Arab Americans.

Helen Thomas will always be remembered as a patriot who stood up for what was right. We shall never forget Helen, her contributions to America, and for her legacy which will continue to inspire many for generations to come.

ADC | 1990 M Street, NW Suite 610 | Washington, DC 20036 | (202) 244-2990 | [email protected]

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CAIR Offers Condolences on Death of Helen Thomas

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/21/13) –

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today offered condolences to the family of pioneering White House journalist Helen Thomas, who died yesterday in Washington, D.C., at the age of 92.

Thomas, the daughter of Lebanese immigrants, was known for her persistent style of questioning during the administrations of nine presidents. In 2010, CAIR presented Thomas with a lifetime achievement award at the civil rights group's annual banquet.

In a statement, CAIR said:

"We offer sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Helen Thomas, whose pioneering work helped shape the profession of journalism. She will be fondly remembered by the American Muslim community and by all those who value a free press and transparent governance."

CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: [email protected]; CAIR Communications Manager Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: [email protected]

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Veteran U.S. journalist Helen Thomas dies        

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2013 (Xinhua) --

Veteran U.S. journalist Helen Thomas, who covered 10 consecutive presidents dating back to John Kennedy in the White House press corps, died, local reports said on Saturday.

Politico quoted an email from the Gridiron Club to its members announcing Thomas' death. Thomas died on Saturday at the age of 92. She served for 57 years at United Press International, first as a correspondent, then as a White House bureau chief.

"Former Gridiron Club president Helen Thomas, our first female member, died Saturday morning at her Washington apartment after a long illness," Gridiron's Carl Leubsdorf wrote in the email. "She would have been 93 next month."

Thomas, a legendary figure in the White House press briefing room, retired after controversial comments she made in 2010. Thomas, then Dean of the White House press corps, commented that Israel should "get the hell out of Palestine," and went on to say Israelis "could go home to Poland, Germany and America, and everywhere else."

The comments stirred an uproar (among Zionists, Israel-firsters, and their puppet collaborators), and Thomas retired in June that year.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Helen Thomas dies at 92; journalist was the feisty scourge of presidents 

The Washington Post

By Patricia Sullivan, Published: July 20, 2013

Helen Thomas, a wire service correspondent and columnist whose sharp questions from the front row of the White House press room challenged and annoyed 10 presidents and who was effective in divulging information that federal officials tried to keep secret, died July 20 at her home in Washington. She was 92.

A friend, retired journalist Muriel Dobbin, confirmed her death. No immediate cause of death was disclosed, but Ms. Thomas had been on dialysis for a kidney ailment.

Helen Thomas, a long-time White House correspondent and a pioneer for women in journalism, has died. She was 92. A friend, Muriel Dobbin, says Thomas died at her apartment in Washington on Saturday morning.

Unintimidated by presidents or press secretaries, Ms. Thomas was known as the dean of the White House press corps for her longevity in the beat. She reported for the United Press International wire service for almost 60 years.

Among the most-recognized reporters in America, Ms. Thomas was a short, dark-eyed woman with a gravelly voice who, for many years, rose from her front-row seat at presidential news conferences to ask the first or second question. For nearly 30 years, she closed the sessions with a no-nonsense “Thank you, Mr. President.”

“Helen was a true pioneer, opening doors and breaking down barriers for generations of women in journalism,” President Obama said in a statement. “She covered every White House since President Kennedy’s, and during that time she never failed to keep presidents — myself included — on their toes.”

Ms. Thomas’s pointed queries often agitated the powerful, but she was also lauded for posing questions “almost like a housewife in Des Moines would ask,” a colleague once said. She asked President Richard M. Nixon point-blank what his secret plan to end the Vietnam War was, and she asked President Ronald Reagan what right the United States had to invade Grenada in 1983.

When President George H.W. Bush announced that the defense budget would remain the same after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disappearance of communism in Europe, she succinctly asked, “Who’s the enemy?”

“I respect the office of the presidency,” she told Ann McFeatters for a 2006 profile in Ms. magazine, “but I never worship at the shrines of our public servants. They owe us the truth.”

Ms. Thomas had a number of scoops, including her exclusive interviews with Martha Mitchell, which helped expose some aspects of the Watergate scandal. Mitchell, the wife of Attorney General John Mitchell, told Thomas in late-night phone calls that she had seen a Nixon campaign strategy book that included plans for Watergate-style operations. Thomas also broke the story that Nixon’s speechwriters were working on a resignation address that he would give the next day.

Her strength was her indefatigable pursuit of hard news, the bread-and-butter staple of the wire services. She arrived at work every morning before dawn and accompanied presidents on overseas trips. She was the only female print reporter to accompany Nixon on his historic visit to China, and later, in her 70s and 80s, she often outdistanced younger reporters on arduous around-the-world travels.

Her unparalleled experience covering the presidency earned her the respect and affection of both colleagues and public officials for decades.