Morality in Mideast Conflict

* Amy Wilentz’s March 19 commentary on the moral bankruptcy of the new Israeli-Palestinian war is an amazing piece of disingenuous shallowness. Yes, Amira Nassir’s death was a tragedy, if that’s what really happened. But there are thousands of needless deaths and maimings in this war, which was launched and perpetuated by the Palestinians. There’s moral bankruptcy all right, but it’s not distributed evenly.

There is, in fact, a strong morality at work here, even if it frequently plays out in the suffering of innocents. This is a battle between a democratic country determined that nothing should be achieved by violence and a dictator whose cronies and official press promise they will try to get everything with it.

It is morally bankrupt to equate security measures taken in self-defense with unprovoked aggression. It is morally bankrupt to mitigate one side’s policy of road ambushes, suicide attacks and car bombings by citing isolated ad hoc violence by the other side. It is morally bankrupt to disregard history, context and responsibility.

JOEL LEVIN

North Hollywood

* Wilentz did not present a fully accurate account of the tragic death of a Palestinian woman who died from heart complications. The vehicle transporting the woman did indeed approach a road checkpoint north of Jenin. Immediate permission was given to transport the woman to the hospital. Soldiers manning the checkpoint even offered to summon an ambulance and physician to the site. The Palestinian driver refused both offers and then drove away from the scene. Several minutes later, the driver, who was unable to find an alternate route, returned to the same checkpoint, and the woman was then transported to the hospital.

The reason the electric gate at the checkpoint could only partially open that day was because Palestinians had blocked the site with concrete during the previous night. The totality of facts needs to be considered before making any judgments about a difficult situation.

MEIRAVE EILON-SHAHAR

Spokesperson, Consulate of Israel

Los Angeles

* How refreshing to read the commentary by Wilentz. We finally hear what the Israelis are really doing to the Palestinians. And here we are welcoming Ariel Sharon to our country! We forget that when the Israelis went to Palestine over 50 years ago, they destroyed 418 villages--75% of them totally destroyed. For all of these years these families have been living in very close quarters in 29 refugee camps in Israel. To this day, the Israelis are still demolishing the homes of the Palestinians, blockading their villages, cutting down their olive trees (which are the means of their sustenance) and, because of the blockades, many die before getting to the hospital.

If one Palestinian does an injustice to an Israeli, all Palestinians suffer. This is against the rules of the United Nations. Please, remember how the Palestinians have suffered under the Israeli Defense Forces.

GWEN JOHNSON

Corona del Mar