Helen Thomas will be honored by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)  at a gala dinner in her honor on November 18, 2010. Thomas, who retired over the summer, following negative reactions to comments she made about Israel, Jews and Palestine, will be presented with the 2010 Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award.  She was selected as the recipient by the National Arab American Journalists Association (NAAJA) and the family of the late Arab American leader, Dr. Mohammad T. Mehdi. 

In a release announcing the award, Anisa Mehdi said “Helen Thomas is a professional journalist who reported accurately, regardless of consequences, asked the tough questions, and applied principles of fairness — not based on politics, race or religion, but on the merits of a story.”

For more info on the award, visit the event’s website here.