February 1989, Page 21

Letters to (and from) the Editors

Report's Poster Child

Dear Editors:

The cover of your December issue is poster material. I saw, in the child's face, fear overcome by hate. I felt that if, someone would embrace him warmly, all the tears of his people would pour from his eyes. I was struck with this thought. How far can a Palestinian throw a rock? If Israeli soldiers did not attack the rock throwers, could the Palestinian rock throwers really threaten the fifth strongest military power in the world? The measure of Israel's ruthlessness is provided by the fact that no deaths have occurred in similar riots in South Korea.

With my small donation maybe we can put a baseball into that young Palestinian's hand.

Mike Paproski, Omaha, NE.

A Mailbox at a Time

Dear Editors:

I'm not sure how my first copy of the Washington Report popped up in my mailbox. I subscribed and I thank my lucky stars that I did each time I receive a new issue. It scares me to think that what appears to me to have been a fortuitous chance could just as easily have passed me by. That is what compels me to send my donation of $25. Word needs to get out that there is a viable alternative to the one-sided interpretations that are force-fed to the general populace in this country. I hope my donation will contribute to that end.

Your publication is particularly appealing to me because it exposes the nature of the powerful forces raging against any honest or even-handed approach to the issues of the Middle East. On a personal level, I have on several occasions attempted to voice to the editors of the Washington Post my dissent to their numerous misrepresentations in Middle East coverage. Never were my letters published. It is therefore comforting to see the emergence of counter-forces, such as the Washington Report, to battle for just representation of Middle East issues. The war for justice and peace in the Middle East is one which must first be won in our country, one mailbox at a time.

Khaled Shami, Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Shami:

Thanks for your confidence and generosity. Your contribution will put 12 issues of the Washington Report into the mailboxes of at least five journalists, teachers, libraries, or clergy.

Before the end of the year, we'll ask each recipient to subscribe on his or her own. Some will, and some will go a step further, just as you did. It's a battle that dedicated people are winning right here and right now.

Who Wrote Palestinian Document?

Dear Editors:

The Washington Report is interesting and, of course, biased. The text for the Palestine Document is said to have been written by Palestinian leaders—that makes it a valid position? By and from whom? Who authored it?

Sid Nagelbush, Cleveland, OH.

Dear Mr. Nagelbush:

We assume you are referring to an article we reprinted by PLO spokesman Bassam Abu Sharif. Your question was valid at the time you wrote. Was he writing as a Yasser Arafat adviser or as a private individual? At this point, it's academic. He took a clear position in favor of a two-state solution: mutual recognition, based upon UN General Assembly Resolution 181; territorial settlement based upon UN Security Council Resolution 242; and an end to terrorism by both sides. This position was subsequently adopted by an overwhelming majority vote at the Palestine National Council meeting in Algiers and enunciated by Yasser Arafat in his speech to the UN General Assembly and a subsequent press conference in mid-December.

US Supplying Cluster Bombs to Israel

Dear Editors:

In mid-December I read in our local paper and saw on TV news that the US was resuming delivery of cluster bombs to Israel. I wrote the enclosed letter to the Olympian, and they published it Dec. 25. I have received a number of calls and notes, all favorable.

If you find any parts or all of the enclosed article suitable for your publication, you have my permission to use it.

Bernice L. Yountz, Olympia, WA.

Dear Ms. Yountz:

We've included your superbly-written and carefully-documented article in this month's "Other Voices" section of the Washington Report. Isn't it a joy that hard-hitting exposes like yours are now being accepted in the mainstream press? And that readers who used to say "I don't want to hear about it," now ask: "Why didn't anyone ever tell me these things?" Keep it up. You and Washington Report readers like you can still save the lives of thousands of innocent civilians on the West Bank and Gaza who, if our government does not act to save them, may soon be "transferred" or slaughtered with US arms and ammunition.

Assassination Attempt

Dear Editors:

This is to bring to your attention the assassination attempt on the life of Mr. Ibrahim Ali Alwazir.

Mr. Alwazir is the leader of an opposition party to the government in the Yemen Arab Republic. He calls for democracy and the freedoms of thought, speech, and association. The most important idea that distinguishes Mr. Alwazir from other politicians in Yemen is his call for a multiparty political system.

Mr. Alwazir is also a famous intellectual and a great writer, and his means have always been peaceful. He has never supported violence, and has always been ready and willing to meet with any group or person to discuss differences in ideologies.

On Saturday, Nov. 26, 1988, while on a visit to Yemeni students in Detroit, MI, gun shots from a passing car were fired at Mr. Alwazir. Fortunately, he escaped injury, but a friend and student of his, Mr. Nagi Isa, was critically injured.

I am impressed with the coverage your distinguished magazine gives to Middle East affairs. However, here's a clear act of political terrorism, performed on American soil. We ask you to please give this matter the adequate coverage it deserves.

Abdulwahab Alkebsi, Gaithersburg, MD.

Report Index?

Dear Editors:

What a great idea it would be for you to have an index. I have the one Al-Fajr did about two years ago, and I have a sort of compilation of issues of The Other Israel from Mary Appleman. It made me think how great it would be to have one of my favorite publication. Personally, I would pay for an index, and I think at least you could count on libraries and academics to do so, too.

Vicki Tamoush, Chicago, IL.

Dear Ms. Tamoush:

It's the latest of several good ideas from you. We'll see what we can do.