By Tom Quiner

Jew hatred is alive and well.

Helen Thomas, renowned liberal reporter for Hearst Newspapers, made the following statement:  “I think the Jews should get the hell out of Palestine” and go back to Germany and Poland.

Back to Germany, the home of the Holocaust.

Back to Poland, the home of Auschwitz.

Ms. Thomas’ views very much reflect those of the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:  Israel has no right to a homeland and no right to exist. Perhaps she even agrees with President Ahmadinejad that the Holocaust never occurred.

The reaction to a comment as outrageous as Ms. Thomas’ was surprisingly muted.  She was was not fired on the spot, as she should have been. Rather, she was allowed to “retire” three days later.

Her ugly public diatribe against Israel was precipitated by last week’s raid on a Palestine flotilla where nine people were killed.

The International community has been unified in their outrage against Israel.

The American main stream media has been unified in their outrage against Israel.

Liberals everywhere have been particularly vocal in expressing their outrage against America’s most important ally in the Middle East, Israel.

Is all of this outrage really warranted?

No, at least not toward Israel.  After all, the terrorist group, Hamas (as classified by the European Union, the U.S., Canada, and Japan) has lobbed in excess of 10,000 bombs toward Israeli cities.  So Israel, along with Egypt, initiated a blockade in order to keep weapons away from Hamas.  In other words, even Egypt views Hamas as a threat.

A blockade is an act of self-defense.   The U.S. blockaded Cuba in 1962 to keep Soviet weapons away from our shores.  It is a peaceful way to prevent military escalation.

Now you may think that needed supplies, food, medicines were being denied Palestines because of this blockade.  No, they weren’t, only weapons.  Supplies are delivered daily.  These supplies include 48,000 tons of food this year.

Maybe these supplies weren’t enough, right?  Maybe that’s why the IHH (Insani Yardim Vakfi) launched this flotilla.  Maybe the Palestines needed more food and clothing and medicine.  But if this is true, all the IHH had to do was follow Israel’s instructions to dock and be inspected for weapons.

If this was truly a humanitarian mission, isn’t this a no-brainer?

The IHH refused because they evidently sought a confrontation.  An activist on board the ship said “either we reach Gaza or we will achieve martyrdom.”  The IHH has a history of aiding radical Islamic groups including Hamas and al-Qaeda.

The goal of the flotilla was a confrontation that would make Israel look bad.  A video at The Israeli Project shows “activists” on board the flotilla preparing weapons prior to boarding by Israeli soldiers.

They attacked the soldiers immediately upon boarding.  Remember:  they had a choice to avoid confrontation by allowing an inspection.  They refused, because that was clearly not their goal.

It is interesting to note that Israel shares the same foundational values as the United States.  And yet the Left despises them.  For that matter, the Left despises U.S. foundational values of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as defined by our Founding Fathers.

Perhaps that explains the knee-jerk reaction of the Left against Israel.

Helen Thomas only said what her liberal allies in the media were thinking.  But she said it with less discretion.

Is anti-semitism a thing of the past?  Tragically, the answer is no.