The disgusting tone used by Mike Dolan is not only inappropriate for the situation in Israel; it’s reprehensible. Maybe sarcasm is a coping device for people like him, making the reality faced by people in that part of the world easier for him to deal with. Israeli bombs do not displace most Palestinian residents of ‘camps’, as Mr. Dolan might have led you to believe. In fact, the residents of the ‘refugee camps’ are actually second and third generation members of a valid protest to the displacement from the original settlement of Israel, over fifty years ago. Israel has ordered bombing during the current intifada against its people, but has done so responsibly. All available evidence says that Israel has used bombing in an effort to thwart the efforts of the terroristic groups that Mr. Dolan has named, in addition to others. Yassar Arafat is not a member of Hamas or Islamic Jihad, but he is a terrorist, by anyone’s definition. He has paid money for the lives of his fellow Palestinians in his efforts to frighten Israelis and destabilize Israel. He has supported the efforts of people who kill non-military civilians in his rhetoric. He has allowed people connected to terrorist campaigns to be released without any form of open trial. Mr. Dolan will go so far as to characterize this man as ‘an interesting character?’ Mr. Dolan is right when he calls Mr. Arafat an integral component of peace. Saying that Arafat is innocent of the failed peace negotiations isn’t just wrong; it’s plainly uninformed. Arafat IS to blame. Mr. Dolan’s conclusion that landless people will lash out against oppressive military efforts is right. His defense of Arafat as a pitiful victim to Hamas and Islamic Jihad is wrong.

Christopher D. Alloway