LETTER: Israelis as much to blame as Arabs for slow peace process

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by Ahmed Shaikh

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To the editor:

Gerald Falchook's column ("Israel victim of terrorism") in the April 19 issue of the Thresher was biased and naive when it reported "... do not think for a moment that every Israeli does not want peace."

First, I believe he was trying to say "... do not think for a moment that any Israeli does not want peace."

Second, Falchook neglects to acknowledge that there are radical dissidents -- both Israeli and Arab -- that oppose any peace settlement. Recall Yigal Amir, the Israeli man who murdered Yitzhak Rabin because of the peace accord with the Palestinians.

Additionally, Falchook reported that the goal of the Hezbollah is the destruction of Israel. This is not true.

As the April 10 edition of the New York Times reports, Hezbollah's mission is to drive the Israelis out of Lebanon.

The Times also reports that Hezbollah agreed in 1993 not to fire rockets into Israel unless Israel killed Lebanese civilians.

When Israel killed two Lebanese construction workers and wounded another in late March, Hezbollah retaliated.

In the future, I hope that Thresher editors will be more assiduous in checking the accuracy of its columnists' facts.

Ahmed Shaikh

Brown '97

This item appeared in the Opinion section of the April 26, 1996 issue.

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