"Dean of White House Press" Forced to Retire

Longtime White House reporter Helen Thomas has retired effective immediately, Hearst Corporation said Monday.

The media conglomerate had employed Thomas as a syndicated columnist for its newspaper chain. Her retirement comes amid a furor created last week by her controversial comments regarding Jewish people.

Thomas, 89, was considered the dean of the White House press corps, as she was the longest-serving White House journalist. She has been covering administrations since 1960, when she began covering then-President-elect John F. Kennedy and his family.

Thomas, had come under fire late last week when a YouTube video surfaced, showing her saying saying that Israel should "get the hell out of Palestine" and that the Jewish people should go home to "Poland, Germany ... and America and everywhere else."

In a posting on her website on Friday, Thomas apologized for her remarks. "They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon," she wrote.

But the apology was not enough to silence critics, who began a rising chorus of calls for Thomas to be either terminated or suspended by Hearst.

Just before Hearst's announcement, the board of the White House Correspondents Association released a statement condemning Thomas' remarks. The group of White House reporters, which includes CNN's Ed Henry, called Thomas' remarks "indefensible." See Chick's THE SQUATTERS.