Palestinians Love Peace; Is Terror Whitewashed?

Yossi Klein Halevi (“Cycle of Violence Is a Middle East Lie,” Commentary, Jan. 23) would have us believe that the Israelis are peace-loving and the Palestinians are war-loving. My Palestinian friends are peace-loving. They work for justice through peaceful means. They are the rule, not the exception.

Palestinians have seen their land taken, their homes invaded and destroyed, their olive trees uprooted, their freedom of movement denied and so on. Israel uses tanks and helicopter gunships, paid for with U.S. tax dollars, to extend the occupation of Palestinian lands. They terrorize an impoverished and severely stressed population. The fact that these conditions lead some into futile acts of violence should surprise no one.

My question for Halevi and your readers is: What level of offense by the state of Israel would elicit an unreserved condemnation from the United States? Israel should not hold itself above international law, and neither should we.

Claiborne M. Clark

Durham, N.C.

*

Praise goes to Halevi. How well he captured the essence of the tragedy in the Middle East. How tragic that the lessons of the recent history have been ignored. Hatred, whether in the name of God or a leader, destroys. The article evoked a memory in this writer, who witnessed and experienced the hatred of members of the Hitler Youth, who in the name of the Fuehrer were destroying others.

Hatred leads to destruction; the young must be taught about the value of life and peace. It must start in the Middle East.

Sam Goetz

Los Angeles

*

The Times’ continued use of the term “militants” when referring to members of groups such as Hamas (Jan. 23) demonstrates anti-Israel bias and an ongoing whitewashing of Palestinian acts of violence. If members of Hamas are militants then so are members of Al Qaeda, the very group that the U.S. is trying to dismantle. The American public is ill-served by such editorial manipulation. It lulls us into a false sense of security. It causes us to forget who the real enemy is. It blurs the lines between the aggressor, the Palestinian Authority, and the victim, Israel.

Tell it like it is. Just as Ehud Barak so bluntly put it--if it walks like a terrorist, speaks like a terrorist and acts like a terrorist, it must be a terrorist.

Sidney L. Strajcher

Los Angeles

*

About 100 tanks and armored personnel carriers enter the West Bank town of Tulkarm, surrounding it, the report states (“Israeli Soldiers Take Control of Palestinian Town,” Jan. 21). Is there any doubt who supplied Israel with those tanks, etc.? And we still wonder why we are so hated by the Arabs and Muslims?

John Concilio

Garden Grove