Helen Thomas' view: How extensive here?

The nine words that drove Helen Thomas “the hell out of” the White House - thanks to a Long Island rabbi - are far more disturbing than the veteran journalist herself, for surely her attitude is shared by some harsh critics of Israel.

The malicious smears against Israel have been acute, distorted and relentless over the years. Israel is oppressing the Palestinians and occupying their land. The army lays siege to Gaza and massacres women and children. The list goes on, though we cannot deny that Israel makes serious mistakes at times.

It is not hard to respond to their accusations. Explain the facts when you believe a critic is wrong, but acknowledge their claims when they are right. There is no rational way to deal with the Thomas stance.

Thomas uttered her fateful words a few days before Israel’s clash with the Turkish ship on Memorial Day, but her outburst was not brought to light until a week after the violent attempt to break the blockade of Gaza. Outside a White House function, Long Island Rabbi David Nesenoff asked her to comment on Israel. Her words:

“Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine. Remember, these people are occupied and it’s their land. It’s not Germany, it’s not Poland.”

Nesenoff, an independent filmmaker, asked where they should go, and she said, “They should go home.” He asked, “Where’s home?” Her response: “Poland, Germany and America, and everywhere else.”

How does our Israeli brethren reconcile with that attitude? How do we satisfy Helen Thomas? Price real estate in Warsaw? Book a flight to Dachau? We are willing to recommend Boca Raton.

Of course, neither Israel nor the Jewish people will ever accept the dissolution of Israel as a Jewish state. Nobody can accomplish this goal without inciting World War III. Does Thomas want an all-out, scorched-earth war?

Most disturbing is the question of how prevalent is this viewpoint. No doubt that many Arabs in the Middle East and some of their brethren in the United States envision Israel’s destruction, but how many Americans and Europeans lacking a direct emotional tie share this view?

True, Thomas’s parents emigrated from Lebanon, but they moved to the United States long before the state of Israel was created and prior to when Lebanon became involved in the conflict, and that originated with the Palestine Liberation Organization’s influence there 35 years ago. She is also a Christian. Islamic loyalty is a major influence of Arab hostility toward Israel and Christians may well be more vulnerable to Muslim extremists than Jews.

Thomas would not be the first person in America, including some of European and African background, to believe that Israel should not exist. I have heard the phrase “From the river to sea” expressed a few times in America, particularly during an anti-Israel program at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. They were talking about supplanting the land mass - namely, Israel - that stretches from the Jordan River to the Mediterreanean Sea.

The more restrained Israel critics have leveled excessive accusations, but they still claim to support Israel’s existence. Others may oppose Israel’s existence, but they grudgingly recognize that compromise is necessary - probably in the form of an independent Palestinian state.

Yet one subset wants the Jews out altogether. End of story. The Jews left Palestine 2,000 years ago and Arabs have owned land there for centuries, they will assert. They will also claim that Europeans and Russians who converted to Judaism moved into Palestine before World War II and subsequently the international community created Israel to salve its Holocaust guilt - at the expense of the Palestinians. So the Jews must leave to return the land to its rightful owners.

Some Americans of diverse backgrounds think this way, but the number of individuals in this category could make a crucial difference in influencing government policies. How extensive is this attitude? So far, their efforts are not working. When Helen Thomas opened her big mouth, few people stepped forth to defend her.

Her compatriots were too cowardly to stand up for her, but they are probably complaining that Helen Thomas was left twisting in the wind. Kind of what they have sought to do to Israel.