Pollak calls on Schakowsky to repudiate her fundraiser headliner, Helen Thomas

Israel is facing its greatest crisis since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Longtime White House correspondent Helen Thomas, said this about the Israelis last month:

Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine. Remember, these people are occupied and it's their land. Not Germany. Not Poland.

Where should they go?

They go home. Poland. Germany. And America and everywhere else.

Thomas spewed this vitriol at a White House Jewish Heritage Celebration.

From a Joel Pollak campaign press release:

EVANSTON, IL--Last week, liberal icon and veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas, declared that Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine!” and go back to Germany.

On May 7, Thomas headlined Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s big campaign fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Rep. Schakowsky said of Thomas: "She's so awesome!"

My opponent, Rep. Schakowsky, knew in advance of Thomas’s anti-Israel views. On May 6, I called on Rep. Schakowsky to repudiate them. She did not, and has still failed to do so.

Thomas is only the latest antisemitic figure that Rep. Schakowsky has endorsed. Last November, for instance, she embraced would-be Honduran dictator Manuel Zelaya.

Prior to Rep. Schakowsky's visit, Zelaya ignited a wave of anti-Jewish violence in Honduras by blaming Israelis for his downfall, and claiming they were poisoning him.

In recent months, Rep. Schakowsky has made common cause with public figures who have made their hatred of Israel and the Jewish people widely known.

In the case of Helen Thomas, Rep. Schakowsky has profited from the association. It is well past time for Rep. Schakowsky to repudiate Helen Thomas and her views.

Technorati tags: Jewish Jews current affairs Palestine Israel news helen thomas Schakowsky Jan Schakowsky Congress politics Illinois Democrats joel pollak