ISRAELI TERRORISM

To the Editors of The Crimson:

It is ironic that those who extol upon the wonders of Israeli "democracy" advocate repression as a means of solving the Palestinian problem. It is ironic that they cite Lebanon as the villain in the current wave of terrorism, never raising the question of what 300,000 Palestinians are doing in Lebanon in the first place.

Although this writer does not condone terrorism as a means of pursuing political ends, one must concede that the Palestinians do not have recourse to "legitimate" means for realizing their right to a national homeland. The international community has persistently turned a deaf car to their cause; they have no powerful spokesmen in the United States; they control no economic, informational, or financial resources in Western countries. They have grown desperate and impatient.

To qualify Israeli terrorism as being justified on the basis of past persecution is at best questionable. One must realize that many leaders of the Palestinian liberation movement are oriental Christians--another persecuted group. Arthur Faris