To the editor:

Forgive the slang, but the whole situation between Palestinians and Israel is whacked. A “terrorist” attacks a busy restaurant in Israel. A “soldier” opens fire on a crowd in Ramallah. From here, it’s hard to tell the difference. The history of this conflict is thousands of years old. It is all violence and bloodshed, and if their responses to the agreement reached in Geneva this Monday are any indication, neither side is willing to compromise enough to make it stop.

You can criticize my sympathy for the Palestinian people as soon as you forget how easy it is to take sides. Meanwhile, the facts are indisputable:

• Israel makes war on Palestinians with American tanks, helicopters and guns, while Palestine makes war on Israel with rocks and crude explosives.
• The American people send $2 billion in military aid to Israel every year.
• Israel and the United States both claim to want the violence to end.

Am I the only one who sees a problem here?

Read me: If we were funding the Palestinian war on Israel, I would still be opposed. I am opposed to violence in general and to war as a rule. I truly want the Israelis to stop killing the Palestinians, and I do not support Palestinian aggression toward Israelis. I want my government to stop sending money to that region to support the violence being done. So I wrote a letter. I call it speaking my mind. What would you call it?

Melanie R. Schnebelen,

Lawrence