After Covering 10 Presidents, Israel Destroyed Her Career

This is Helen Thomas (1920–2013). She covered ten U.S. presidents, from Kennedy to Obama, and was the first woman to break into several senior White House reporting roles — including the first female officer of the White House Correspondents’ Association.

Her career came to an abrupt end in May 2010, after a rabbi with a video camera asked her about Israel outside the White House. Thomas said Israelis should “get the hell out of Palestine” and “go home” to places like Poland, Germany and the U.S. The clip spread instantly and the backlash was swift as well:

▪️ The White House Correspondents’ Association condemned her

▪️ Her speaking agency dropped her

▪️ Hearst forced her into retirement within days

▪️ Major outlets that once relied on her reporting black-balled her

She’d spent half a century grilling presidents, but her criticism of Israel ended her career.

She kept writing and giving interviews afterward, arguing no journalist should be punished for opposing Israel’s cruel policies toward Palestinians. But she never returned to the White House briefing room — the place she dominated for decades.