Peacemaking Between Israelis and Arabs
The Opinion page article "Right of Return - An Unavoidable Issue," Aug. 24, misses a number of fundamental points.
Passed during a lull in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 of December 1948 envisioned a peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. In referring to refugees who would "live at peace with their neighbors," the drafters did not anticipate 44 years of Arab-state warfare, Palestinian terrorist attacks, and general Arab rejection of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state in the Middle East.
Equally significant is that all parties to the current Arab-Israeli negotiations have agreed that UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 are the operative resolutions for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. Let's look forward, not backward. Forty-four years of history have rendered Resolution 194 obsolete. Bluma Zuckerbrot, New York Director, Middle Eastern Affairs Anti-Defamation League Aiding Bosnia-Herzegovina
The Western world must not turn its back on the unfolding catastrophe in the disintegrating republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is the most hideous, factional bloodletting in Europe in half a century. Now is not the time for finger pointing and assigning blame - not when repeated, relentless violations of human rights have already taken upwards of 20,000 lives, injured tens of thousands of other people and made refugees of some 2 million more people.
It is time for forceful action. It is time to assure refuge for civilians fleeing the chaos that was once Yugoslavia. The crisis of anguish of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot be ignored. The United States must exert its leadership, and with the European Community, use whatever means necessary - including possible military action - to end the devastation of the refugees. Mark J. Levinson, Boston President, American Jewish Committee
It is horrifying and intolerable to observe a brutal invasion driving out people in Europe 47 years after the end of World War II. The Serbian war of expansion has the same qualities as the heinous crimes of Hitler and Stalin. Defenseless citizens must live for months confined in their cellars to protect themselves from bombs, artillery fire, and snipers.
Horrifying and intolerable also is the incapacity of many European and American politicians for action. Their hesitation, indecision, ineffective maneuvering, and appeasement politics have made the present stage of escalation possible.
It is the moral obligation of Europeans and Americans to stop the genocide in former Yugoslavia immediately by any means - even military. Kurt Weber, Gottingen,Germany The world in contrast
The Aug. 10 issue of the Monitor should be read by every person in the world. It is a masterpiece of presentation of the incredible contrasts of our time. The front-page photograph of the child in Baidoa, Somalia, who is a victim of advanced malnutrition, is a terrifying commentary on our modern world.
The coverage of the Olympic Games shows a photograph of two Afro-American athletes in all the splendor of their youth and strength. It is worth noting that there is more than contrast here. The two Olympic champions were given great opportunities and used them well. The child on the front-page was never given anything and doesn't have a chance. That is, not unless the wealthy of the world awaken to the tragedy and the challenge on the front page. Jorge Prieto, Chicago
