Letters to the Editors

Arafat and Sharon stand in the way of peace

The tragedy going on in Israel will not end until both Yasser Arafat and Ariel Sharon are out of the picture. They are relics of the past with their own agendas. Both of them are consumed with hate for past wrongs that were indeed, on each side, very, very wrong. They are overcome by the haunting memories of injuries not yet avenged -- nor will they ever be. They are cemented in acrimony that only the aged, ever poised for bloody revenge, can amass.

Between Sharon and Arafat there is a loathing that no period of time will ever dilute. If, in fact, there was ever any good in either of these men, it has long faded into an immutable hatred for each other that eclipses all other issues in this sorrowfully long, ongoing calamity.

The sooner these governments are turned over to younger men or women who have young families and look forward to a future of accomplishment and progress and not back on a lifetime of frustration and pernicious abuse, the sooner this unbelievably lamentable era will end.

There are still many there who miraculously survived the horrors of Europe after World War II. As they face the sunset, they and their progeny deserve a better bequest than the one these leaders leave.
-- James A. O'Connor, Hudson

Israel's destruction is the goal

Once again, another generation of Palestinian youth has grown into adulthood hating Israel, hating Jews. For years the textbooks used in Palestinian schools have been filled with hatred toward Israel and its inhabitants. This festering of young Palestinian minds has, in Yasser Arafat's twisted logic, turned children into murderers, each suicide bomber hailed as a martyr to "the cause." And what is the cause? The destruction of Israel.

Over more than half a century, turmoil, murder, destruction and violence have been the route through which the Arab states believe that one day Israel will no longer exist -- that determination will give way to weariness and lack of will. Then the Arab states, together, will bring about the demise of Israel.

That has been Arafat's plan from the beginning. Any opportunity for peace has eventually been turned aside by Arafat. That's a fact, and facts are stubborn things. Look it up. People can argue all they want about Arab objectives, but the years of turmoil are proof enough that what the Arabs really want is the final solution to the problem: the total destruction of Israel. Everything else is commentary.
-- Herb Snitzer, St. Petersburg

First, control Palestinian extremists

Re: Israel unleashes its fury, March 30.

In the end, it comes down to this: The Israeli government cannot control Palestinian extremists. If Palestinian leadership cannot, or will not, the Israeli army must. Not until all Arab nations in the region demonstrate the ability and a willingness to contain radicals in their midst should the Saudi proposal, or any other peace initiative, be taken seriously.

Our government correctly assumes the right to hunt down terrorists wherever the pursuit leads. The Israelis have that same right. Further, we have an oft-repeated commitment to assist if needed.
-- Steven C. Nicolo, Clearwater

Pressure seems appropriate

Re: Don't press Israel to negotiate with Arafat, letter, March 29.

Like the letter writer, I, too, support my leaders. However why does no one in Washington have the guts to tell Israel to get out of the occupied land or we will stop the billions of dollars of aid we give that nation.

Yasser Arafat is a terrorist, but the Palestinians still need a place to live. We need to pressure Israel: Give back the land you took in 1967 or the money will stop. We all know what Israel will do.
-- James Kronenberger, St. Petersburg

A crime against humanity

The continued Israeli aggression against both the Palestinian people and Palestinian Authority has reached a point beyond state terrorism. It is no less than a crime against humanity. Israeli forces have re-occupied much of the Palestinian territories, shelled residential areas, killed many Palestinians execution style, prevented some Palestinian ambulances from reaching the injured and shot at others and desecrated the Muslim and Christian holy places.

What is more painful is the support of the Bush administration for these barbaric and inhumane actions. How can President Bush claim he is fighting a war against terrorism when he is aiding Ariel Sharon, the world's No. 1 terrorist? President Bush keeps blaming Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat and asking him to stop the Palestinian attacks on Israel. I am just appalled at this ill judgment. It is said by many experts that the Palestinian attacks are a response to the Israeli illegal occupation and continued aggression against the Palestinians. No one, not Arafat, not Sharon, not Bush can stop a nation from achieving its dream of independence and freedom. It is simply said, you want to end the violence? End the occupation.

I don't think Arafat or anyone else in the world can order young men and women to go and commit suicide. The motive must be bigger than life. It is a desperate nation looking for an equal place among the world's nations. If these people have independence, freedom and economic opportunity, no one would ever think of blowing himself up.

The United States can re-establish it credibility in the international arena only if it plays an honest and unbiased role of peace broker -- something it has not done yet. True patriotism is not shown just by waving the flag and singing patriotic songs. It is rather done by practicing our rights in freedom and democracy, and expressing our opinion in both domestic and foreign policy.
-- Saleh A. Mubarak, Tampa

Test Palestinian intentions

Re: "Israel is in a war," Sharon affirms, April 1.

Another headline on Mideast violence -- there seems to be no end to the terror and reprisals. Follow this logic to see if a conclusion can be found: If the Palestinians are killing themselves, along with innocent Israeli civilians, they must have a purpose. If their desire is to gain a homeland, the killing will theoretically stop when that wish is granted. If their desire is simply to kill Israelis, the violence will not stop and Israel is justified in continuing with whatever actions are needed to eliminate these madmen.

How do we discover the true motivations of such militant groups as Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists? And how do we make sure that the Israelis are also totally committed to peace? Why not try this: Without further ado, Israel can commit to a specific Palestinian homeland, define its borders, and make provisions that the Palestinian state will be recognized on some specific future date. A provision of this declaration would be that if terrorist violence occurs inside Israel's borders beyond this date, Israel will have the right to occupy the Palestinian territory again and destroy any or all remnants of the Palestinian movement, its government and its people if need be.

Why will this work? The terror will not stop until the Palestinians themselves decide that they are fed up with it. Only the Palestinian people as a whole, neither Yasser Arafat nor any other leader can make this happen. If a state is established and the Palestinians truly want peace, and if they know they can only have peace without terror, they will root out the terrorists themselves. Until then, nothing will change.
-- G.W. Cantrell, St. Pete Beach

Peace is not the goal

While it is true that fellow Muslims and Arabs set up the Palestinian refugee camps, the continued existence of those camps is for one purpose and one purpose only: to have a ready-made issue and a ready-made population to foment unrest and terrorism. As an ancillary benefit, those camps and the issues arising therefrom provide a way to keep attention deflected from the repressive governments of the Middle East.

Make no mistake; the Palestinian elements do not want peace. They want to obliterate the state of Israel. They will be satisfied with nothing less. No amounts of land; no closings of any settlements will satisfy these people.

Yasser Arafat and the PLO existed before the 1967 War, which ended with Israeli occupation of the West Bank. They have not changed one whit from their original formation. It was and is a terrorist organization with a terrorist leader. Arafat has never told his people that they should be aware that Israel is not going away; rather he speaks of the Palestinian flag flying over the mosques and churches of that country. He helps to ensure payments to the families of the suicide bombers.

Of international monies given to the Palestinian Authority for economic development, none was used to better the lot of the people. When an editor of a newspaper protested and questioned, the Palestinian Authority imprisoned him. Terrorism can happen here and it can happen in Middle Eastern nations. That is why the governments of Saudi Arabia, Iran, et al., should be very, very careful what they finance and assist.
-- Marilyn J. Day, Beverly Hills

The misused name of Islam

Re: Bomber kills 19 Israelis as peace plan stalls, March 28.

The Times story said, "The bomber, a 25-year-old member of the Islamic militant group Hamas, knew his target well." If the Times is qualified to describe organizations as "Islamic" then it must also be qualified to classify them as "un-Islamic."

As an American and a Muslim, I challenge the American press to cease strengthening terrorist groups and weakening mainstream Islam by continually validating terrorist groups' false claims to the righteousness and rewards of the Islamic faith. Instead, the American press should refer to these groups as "self-described" or "self-proclaimed Islamic" groups.

Groups like Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Fatah represent a tiny minority of the world's Muslims. Imams and other leaders representing hundreds of millions of Muslims have, in fact, repudiated their teachings and methods. These terrorist groups are small factions united by inbred teachings that promote hatred, violence and intolerance as duties of the faithful. They are fueled by a climate of economic desperation and political repression (particularly in Palestine), and by the bankrolls of those who have a geopolitical agenda that has to do with empire-building and hunger for worldly power. It has little concern with making the world more pleasing to God or obeying the limitations of justified warfare imposed by God in Islam's Holy Koran. Although these groups are small, they are highly motivated and funded to potentially poison every Islamic community in the world with their views.

In contrast to the terrorists, most Muslims are afraid (God help them) to speak out at all. They just want to "live and let live." Sadly, with so many dying in the misused name of Islam, this silence and peacefulness of the majority Muslim community becomes viewed by the non-Muslim world as passive acceptance of terrorism conducted by groups that are continually called "Islamic" by the world press. Thus, the world press plays a major role in further empowering the minority pro-terror groups by making them the de facto representatives of 1.2-billion Muslims worldwide.
-- Janice (Khadija) Gittino, Tarpon Springs

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