Letter to The Washington Post

From: Dr. Michael Berenhaus
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 9:33 AM
To: 'letters@washpost.com'
Subject: letter to the editor

Dear Editor,

Dennis Sandole (letters Aug. 25, 2006] asks what Israel (and the United States) has gained by “killing more than a thousand Lebanese, displacing nearly a million people, destroying Lebanon’s infrastructure and perhaps the Lebanese state itself…” Good question but he is blaming the wrong party. It was Hezbollah that caused the killing, the displacing, and the destruction of Lebanon and the Lebanese people by attacking Israel from their midst. This twisting of culpability has plagued Israel since its birth, as world opinion, the UN, and Amnesty International consistently blame Israel for merely defending itself. No other country has ever been so castigated for similar actions. This "piling-on-Israel" scenario is ironic, since it is done against the most discriminated people in the history of the world.

In one sense, Sandole is correct when he further blames Israel for the lack of stability in the region. It is true that as long as Israel continues to fight back against the surrounding Arab countries that continually try to annihilate her and refuse to recognize her right to exist, the region will never be stable. However this is more twisting of culpability. If this is indeed the case, though, I can only say - “long live instability in the Middle East.”

Michael Berenhaus