Beirut Massacre

To the Editors:

Although the Israelis won the military battle in Lebanon, they lost the political war in the eyes of the world [Sept. 27]. It is now time for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, give up the West Bank and Gaza, and recognize the Palestinians' right to become a nation.

Larry Garber

New York City

We justly condemn those who could have prevented the Nazi Holocaust but looked the other way. Should we use a different standard when Israelis allow the Christian militiamen to perform terror?

Bruce Hendry

Minneapolis

We can deplore Nazi Germany's actions and not be regarded as antiChristian. We can be revolted at My Lai and not be anti-American. We can scorn Iran's Ayatullah and not be anti-Muslim. But we can never even question Israel's actions against the Arabs lest we be branded antiSemitic. That is psychological blackmail.

Chris Haney

York, Me.

The government of Israel is totally responsible for the massacre of Palestinian civilians. That the killings were not committed by Israeli soldiers is not important. What is important is that they were allowed to happen when the Israelis were in control.

Shakir A. Lotia

Fresno, Calif.

Because we need a foothold in the Middle East, the U.S. has built up Israel. Prime Minister Begin has taken advantage of this. He plans to make Israel the ruler in the area by starting more settlements on the West Bank and occupying Lebanon. Begin has caused the rebirth of anti-Semitism all over the world.

Jean Plenet

West Los Angeles, Calif.

How dare the Lebanese Phalangist militiamen call themselves Christians?

Mr. and Mrs. Glen Shaw

Kearny, N.J.

King Hussein of Jordan, whose Muslim Arab armies murdered hundreds of Palestinian Arabs, now has the audacity to sit in judgment on Israel, which did not kill anyone in the Beirut massacre.

Grace Rossabi

New York City

Muslims slaughter Christians, Christians slaughter Muslims, Muslims slaughter other Muslims, and everybody blames the Jews.

David L. Passman

Chicago

Israel has one of the best intelligence agencies in the world. It knows when its enemy's air force is about to take off. It knew where Palestinian targets were when its army moved into Lebanon. It is impossible to believe that this same country had no knowledge of the massacre when it started.

John F. Schmitt

Pittsburgh

As an Israeli I am ashamed. At the beginning of the war in Lebanon, we were told that we were going to fight against guerrillas who did not allow the residents of northern Israel to live in peace. But once we went into Beirut, the war showed its ugliest face. Sadly, for us the war became a way of life. I blame you, Prime Minister Begin, for killing the good within us.

Orly Alon

Tel Aviv

Word to the Wise

At last, an examination of education [Sept. 27], the most important issue that determines our future. As a college student majoring in history and literature, I can say that anyone who has the courage to study liberal arts in these tough economic times is equal to the challenge of finding a job.

Kris Oser

Washington, D.C.

Because a democracy needs to offer its citizens an education, it is a mistake to claim that it has to be offered to everybody, qualified or not. That is like trying to teach all musicians to be Mozarts.

William Peet

St. Paul

Your article reminded me of a bumper Sticker: IF YOU THINK EDUCATION IS EXPENSIVE, TRY IGNORANCE.

Valerie Keene

Beverly Hills Calif.

You quote me both inaccurately and out of context. I said that scientific knowledge is gained by experimental and mathematical methods and not, as you cite, "by experiment, conducted essentially in mathematics."

My reply to your question about being able to graduate from Harvard without having read Shakespeare ("That's not necessary") obviously was not intended to dismiss the greatest figure in English literature. I merely meant to indicate that no one work or author can be considered a sine qua non. My view is reinforced by your own story. In "The Compleat Book Bag" only three of your eight eminent authorities list Shakespeare as an author whom every educated person should have read.

Henry Rosovsky

Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Harvard University

Cambridge, Mass.

Among the 38 books recommended for the educated person, not one was written east of Jerusalem and west of San Francisco. Perhaps one of the weaknesses of American education is its provincialism.

Russell T. Blackwood

Professor of Philosophy

Hamilton College

Clinton, N. Y.

Cuban Missiles

The authors of your article "The Lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis" [Sept. 27] failed to touch upon two points. Had President Kennedy ignored his liberal advisers and supported the Bay of Pigs invasion with air cover, Communism would have been eliminated in Cuba and the crisis prevented. Second, the no-invasion assurance Kennedy gave Nikita Khrushchev has secured the Communist foothold in the Western Hemisphere, leaving "festering wounds in the body politic," El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. This was not Kennedy's finest hour.

Anthony Gilbertie

Westport, Conn.

You say that Khrushchev suffered humiliation. I disagree. Khrushchev outfoxed Kennedy. The real objective of the Soviets was to free Cuba from American control. Khrushchev got what he wanted by forcing Kennedy to declare publicly that he would not invade Cuba.

Robert S. Junn

Jenison, Mich.

Greene's Gripe

Your article on my book Monsignor Quixote [Sept. 20] got a good many facts wrong. I have not lost a libel action brought by Monsieur Guy, but an action for "intrusion into private life," a very French law which has nothing to do with libel; my daughter lives in Switzerland, not England, so I can hardly visit England to see her; my "dossier from British intelligence" is a dossier of American intelligence obtained under the Freedom of Information Act; Madame Cloetta is not my secretary; I have not toured Spain with priests--only one priest, my friend Father Duran. Oh well, Mr. J.D. Reed has only scored five mistakes: Mr. Auberon Waugh recently scored ten.

Graham Greene

Antibes, France

Amazing Grace

Your article on the death of Princess Grace [Sept. 27] rankled. One sought the tender word to soothe but found instead such derisive phrases as "princess of an amusement park" and "suppressed clucks" in reference to her restrained but motherly defense of her children. And why describe 15,000 carnations as being "dumped" on her bridal yacht from a plane when the word showered would have been more apt?

Grace Folk

New York City

Tears for Texas

I am sorry that "hard times" have come to Texas [Sept. 27]. Ironically, I recall a hit record of 1972-73 called Freeze a Yankee that sang the praises of Texans and Arabs who were squeezing the Northeast by cutting off oil supplies. I can still hear the whoops and hollers of Texans who thought it screamingly funny that those damyankees were getting theirs.

William C. Boring

Garden City, N. Y.

It irks me when I hear a Northerner, now in Texas with a good job, criticize the state for its crime, traffic and weather. Northerners have contributed to these evils. "Yankee, go home!"

Robin R. Rowell

Houston

Saving Salmon

Your article "Decline of the Atlantic Salmon" [Aug. 30] is an accurate portrayal of the problems besetting this magnificent fish in Scotland and other countries rimming the North Atlantic. The most destructive factor in forcing the salmon to retreat from their historic river haunts is the thousands of commercial nets, which drift at sea or are anchored near the entrance of rivers to ensnare salmon as they return to spawn. Only immediate government action can prevent the salmon's ultimate destruction.

Wilfred M. Carter

Executive Director

The Atlantic Salmon Federation

Montreal

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