When Helen Thomas said Jewish people should "get the hell out of Palestine," the outcry forced her into retirement from the White House press corps in 2010. (Not that she was all that apologetic afterward.) Now Palestinians are giving her a little thank-you. A representative of Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas presented the 91-year-old with a journalism prize over the weekend at a dinner in Washington, notes the Jerusalem Post. It recognized "all of her actions supporting Palestine."
Israel's reaction? Its ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, didn't mince words. He said he was "appalled" at the Palestinians' decision and accused Thomas of "teaching Palestinian children to hate the Jewish State and to glorify suicide bombers," reports Israel's Haaretz. "This atrocious act is an indication of the Palestinian Authority’s failure to meet the basic requisites of peace." (More Helen Thomas stories.)