Damning with Faint Praise

David Harsanyi's latest article looks at sadness with what happened to Helen Thomas. Not that he thinks she's a good columnist; he's just upset that she got fired for speaking her mind. So far so good. He even seems to praise Thomas for saying what many clearly believe (which is my problem with his column).

Nevertheless, at this point in her career, the 89-year-old was still a columnist for Hearst newspapers. A columnist offers provocative views. You don't have to like Thomas, and you don't have to read her columns, but having a disdain for Jews in general or Israel in particular is hardly the most offensive thought that's kicking around.

Now again, what Thomas said was that Israel should essentially disband and the Jews living there should go back to Germany, Poland, and the US and wherever else they came from. Very silly point of view.

But what Harsanyi doesn't seem to grasp (presumably because he doesn't want to grasp it) is that Helen Thomas, and others, might be for the Palestinians as opposed to against Israel. Without considering the plight of the Palestinians, the position of Thomas seems inexplicable.