To the editor:

There is no difference between suicide bombings of the World Trade Center and suicide bombings of hotels and restaurants in Israel. The argument that Palestinians have some “legitimate grievance” that justifies terrorism implies that if bin Laden’s grievance is legitimate enough, then his actions are equally justified. No amount of “repression” justifies the wanton murder of civilians. It is morally repugnant to teach children to kill themselves in order to kill other children. It challenges the fundamental basis of ethical and civilized behavior.

Just as the United States has the right to destroy the states that harbor and sponsor the terrorists who attack us, so does Israel have the right, even the obligation, to destroy Arafat’s “authority” that incites, harbors, trains and funds terror attacks against Israel.

While one may disagree with Israeli and U.S. policy, Israel has in fact accepted every plan to partition its land into two states, from 1936 to 2000. Palestinian and Arab leaders have consistently rejected every attempt at a peaceful, negotiated settlement, and remain focused only on the destruction of Israel.

The flagrant hypocrisy that condemns terror attacks against this country but condones them against Israel can only be explained as either gross ignorance or anti-Semitism.

Sheldon Whitten-Vile,

Lawrence