Dear Sir,
In times of world crisis, you judge people who claim to be leaders of nations. However, if these leaders constantly adopt views that vary from the standards acceptable to the civilised world, are they not denying themselves the right of recognition? Are the leaders of the "Western" world not obliged to refuse such recognition in the present, so as not to face humiliation in the future? It seems that the leadership of the Palestinian people (be it the PLO or Hamas) is constantly supporting the wrong side, ignoring International justice, and supporting cruelty and instability. In other words, the "Palestinian Leadership" as they claim to be, is supportive of cruelty, anarchy, and all that is not valued by the civilized world. In August, and all through the crises in the Gulf, it was the PLO and Hamas who supported Saddam Hussein, in an ugly demonstration of ungratefulness towards Kuwait, a pillar of support for the Palestinian People. During the attempted coup in the Soviet Union, did it support the "committee of eight", together with such individuals as Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi? Only two days after the return to power (?) of Michael Gorbachev, did Arafat proclaim that he too belongs to the civilized world. Let the world remember with whom it is dealing, and act accordingly. The "good guys" did make mistakes in the past; let us not repeat them.
Zalli Jaffe.
