Some perspective

IT was an amazing feat to attempt to justify or explain that humiliation and a desire to restore family honor can cause one to want to murder innocent victims [“Killers Rendered in Shades of Gray,” Oct. 30]. Explaining why such a clearly evil act should be moved from evil into the gray area requires a revision of our moral and legal standards.

Neither the film “Paradise Now” nor Rachel Abramowitz discusses suicide bombings in proper historical perspective. The single and only reason for Israeli presence in the West Bank (Gaza is now under Palestinian control) is the attempt by Egypt, Syria and Jordan to annihilate the Jewish state in 1967. Until then, the Palestinian Arabs lived under Egyptian and Jordanian control and never complained about the humiliation or subjugation to second-class citizen status. It is only when Arafat began to brainwash what amounted to three generations of children into hatred of Israel that these heinous acts began. To say that a film that blames Israeli occupation for Palestinian suffering, ignoring history and the corruption of Arafat and his successor Abbas, is “an anthem for peace” ignores every aspect of reality and denies the opportunity for a meaningful peace through dialogue and compromise.

AGGIE R. HOFFMAN

Los Angeles