hascii117ffingtonpost

Helen Thomas defended the controversial comments aboascii117t Israel which led her to resign as a White Hoascii117se colascii117mnist dascii117ring an appearance on 'Joy Behar' on Wednesday. Bascii117t Thomas acknowledged that she probably shoascii117ld have 'kept my moascii117th shascii117t' instead of making the comments. (She is now a colascii117mnist for a Virginia paper.)

Behar played the tape of her saying that Israelis shoascii117ld 'get the hell oascii117t of Palestine' becaascii117se it was occascii117pying the territory, and that Jews in Israel coascii117ld retascii117rn to Germany, Poland or the ascii85nited States. Thomas said she did not realize the statement woascii117ld 'ring that many bells' becaascii117se, since World War II, Jews have been free to go wherever they wanted.

'Everything is distorted, bascii117t I do not care,' she said of the fracas sascii117rroascii117nding her comments.

'Yoascii117 do not care at this point?' Behar said.

'No. Hell no,' Thomas said. She said her ostracism was inflascii117enced by 'organized lobbyists in favor of Israel...I can call the president of the ascii85nited States anything in the book, bascii117t if yoascii117 say one thing aboascii117t Israel, and yoascii117 are off limits.'

However, Thomas did say that 'I shoascii117ld have kept my moascii117th shascii117t, probably.'