U.S.-Israel and Spy Case

The severity of the William Pfaff’s language criticizing the Israeli government handling of the Pollard spying case is short of astounding. In his article (Editorial Pages, March 15), “Pollard Affair Was Built on a Bedrock of Stupidity,” Pfaff sprinkles his sentences with such derogatory terms as stupidity, cunning, profound failure of common sense , etc. Such an assessment of the mentality of Israel’s top leadership is an affront to the dignity of the Israeli people.

A mitigating circumstance, if one can be found in the whole sordid affair, is that some of the information obtained by Pollard should have, in a sense, been provided to Israel by the United States through legitimate channels. The location of scattered Palestine Liberation Organization headquarters and the relative strength or weakness of the many confrontational Arab states are only of academic interest to the United States. But they affect the well-being and the very survival of the beleaguered Jewish state.

As it happens, historic blunders are made. The Pollard case is one of them. But to single out Israel for special treatment can not be justified by any standard of judgment.

A. OSTASH

Northridge