Washington (CNN) -- 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 reporting on 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 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."
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NEW: Rabbi who recorded interview says Thomas was giving Jews "the finger"
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Thomas has been covering the White House since 1960
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Retirement comes amid furor over remarks about Jews
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Thomas apologized for comments Friday
"@placeholder's statement calling for the religious cleansing of Israel is reprehensible," Fleischer said.