Middle East Terrorism and Martyrs

There is absolutely no justification for murdering innocent men, women and children. Yet in “A Martyr’s Bloody Way to Heaven” (March 8), Scott Kraft, hopefully unintentionally, seems to suggest a kind of moral quid pro quo for the terrorist attacks Israelis have suffered in recent weeks. Few could deny that life in the West Bank and Gaza has not been easy. Yet the fact that all of the bombers “have known the punishing presence of the Israeli army and the day-to-day humiliation of roadblocks and identity checks” does not excuse their heinous crime.

And, why now? Now, when much of the territories in question are under Palestinian control. Now, when Israel has demonstrated, by deeds, not just words, its commitment to Palestinian self-rule. The answer is, unfortunately, all too clear. For these martyrs and those who goad them to slaughter, peace with Israel may be even less preferable than the “punishing presence of the Israeli army.”

CHERYL CUTLER AZAIR

Associate Director

Anti-Defamation League

Los Angeles

* The profile of the Mideast bomber, with nine siblings who saw his sacrifice as an escape from hopeless poverty and unemployment, indicates that as long as there is an endless supply of these desperate men, the peace process is in peril. No amount of economic aid can keep pace with this population avalanche.

Surely family planning is a requisite for a permanent peace.

RALPH MEYER

Santa Monica

* Re “U.S. Report Cites Israeli Human Rights Abuses,” March 7:

So now the U.S. government’s double-standard policy, often used when dealing with the Palestinian issue, has been extended to include standards of acceptability for human rights abuses. Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs Timothy E. Wirth’s differentiation between “immediate” versus “long-term” human rights abuse goals is unconscionable and very ill-advised.

By tacitly agreeing to Israel’s use of harsh police practices, an acronym for torture, murder, collective punishment and destruction of innocent people’s homes, the U.S. government has compromised its professed stance on human rights abuses. Isn’t almost 30 years of a failed violent occupation “long-term” enough?

SAMIR ABU-DAYYEH

Long Beach

* Your Op-Ed writers, including David Grossman (March 4) and Yossi Halevi (March 12) and others, seem to suggest that terrorism cannot be stopped.

The facts seem to suggest that terrorism is increased by reward. The huge reward received by Yasser Arafat, the father of terrorism and the PLO, predictably has produced other terrorist groups sure to be handsomely rewarded in the future. Hamas is already reaping a great reward handed to them by Shimon Peres and President Clinton convening the world summit conference to fight Hamas.

Terrorism can be fought and eliminated successfully by an Israeli government that respects every Jewish life. The present government of Peres is incapable of defending Jewish lives. Let’s hope that the next prime minister will be able to do what Peres and company are incapable of doing: eliminate terrorism in Israel.

BERNARD I. LINDNER

Los Angeles