No Moral Equivalency in Terrorist Acts
Oh no, not another Arab writer playing the “moral equivalency” game! Hussein Ibish writes (“Going Down the Dark Ladder,” Commentary, Dec. 18) that “the suicide bomb attacks that killed almost 30 Israelis in Haifa and Jerusalem were a direct response to Israel’s assassination of Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, a leading member of Hamas. . . . Israel’s depressingly predictable response was to assassinate yet another Hamas member . . . which all but guarantees another round in the cycle of violence.”
Apparently Ibish believes that killing leaders of a terrorist organization whose members routinely murder innocent men, women and children is somehow morally equivalent to the murders committed by that organization. Under this line of reasoning, the attempt by the United States to capture or kill Osama bin Laden because he led an organization responsible for deliberately flying planes into several large buildings and killing a few thousand people would be no better morally than the acts of terror that precipitated the manhunt.
There will be no peace in the Middle East until “moderate” Arabs (if there really are any) make a stand and condemn suicide bombings for the murders they are.
Steve St. John
Playa del Rey
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Ibish makes the point that Yasser Arafat, during the ‘80s and ‘90s, “went hoarse” renouncing terrorism. That’s precisely the point, Mr. Ibish, because in the face of these renouncements, Palestinians continued their despicable acts of terrorism killing hundreds of Israelis and continued to preach hatred and violence to their children. Arafat’s hollow promises no longer have any meaning.
Fred Haim
Agoura Hills
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I commend The Times for continuing to print articles by Ibish. Finally, subscribers can read the words of someone who sees the truth and tells the truth, painful as it is, concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including our country’s direct and immoral role in it.
David J. Habib
Canoga Park
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Re “Arafat Tells Militants to End Battle,” Dec. 17: Talk about a nonevent! True, in between praising Palestinian “martyrs” (read: suicide bombers) and berating Israel for the “crime” of defending its people, Arafat managed to spend a couple of minutes calling for an end to terrorism emanating from areas under his nominal control. Wake me when the man actually does something about it.
Jeff Kandel
Los Angeles
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Israel occupied the West Bank by force 33 years ago. Arabs are still being evicted from their homes. About 400,000 Jews now live in settlements on the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. For 30 years the Arabs endured these settlements and we did nothing. Now that the Arabs act, we tell them to sit tight and do nothing. The United States vetoes any U.N. motion in relation to Israel. It is easy to sit here in our comfortable homes and criticize suicide bombers, and support Israel’s military acts of self-defense, especially when we have our own self-defense activities in top gear.
The White House would now like to destroy Hezbollah. However, Hezbollah is seen as a valid resistance movement by most European countries, including England. It would amaze me if President Bush could get the Europeans, let alone the United Nations, to condemn Hezbollah--enabling White House hawks to go after Syria and Iran. However, if Israel began to withdraw from the illegal settlements, we could see whether Hezbollah is a resistance movement or a terrorist organization.
Mike Strong
Corona del Mar