Letter writer Jerry Levin's assessment of the journalist Helen Thomas as a "hateful old bigot" because she dared to criticize Israel's treatment of the Palestinians could not be further from the truth ("Helen Thomas was a path breaker — but also a bigot," July 27).

Thomas was a competent White House correspondent for 50 years who was fired because she was not afraid to speak out against Israel's atrocities against the Palestinians.

In 2011, the website Salon.org complained that "advocacy of Israeli positions has replaced professional qualifications as the criteria for service." Unfortunately, this applies to both government and media where one must follow the pro-Israel agenda in order to keep one's job.

Ray Gordon, Bel Air