To the Editor:
“Brothers to the Bitter End,” by Fouad Ajami (Op-Ed, June 19), is perhaps the most astute, most insightful account of the Palestinians ever written. It is virtually the tragic history of the Palestinian people and their struggle for self-determination in a nutshell, and it written by one who knows, an expert of the Middle East and a fellow Arab who by no means can be accused of having a pro-Israel or pro-Jewish bias.
This moment-of-truth account of the Palestinian condition should be read and studied by the Palestinians themselves as well as by other Arab leaders who purport to want to help their brethren, as well as by American and European leaders who all grapple with this seemingly insurmountable problem called the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Having a clear grasp of this complex and complicated issue is first step to trying to solve it once and for all.
Rachel Kapen
West Bloomfield, Mich., June 19, 2007
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To the Editor:
On the one hand, it is refreshing to be reminded of the often forgotten truth that Palestinians and Arabs are far from being the “brethren” that many pundits insist we are.
On the other hand, and as a Palestinian myself, I am disappointed that Fouad Ajami conveniently doesn’t mention a major cause of the Palestinians’ “squalor and misery,” and that is the Israeli military occupation regime that has imprisoned ordinary people behind walls, checkpoints and blanket derogatory labels.
Such strangulation and dehumanization, along with the inevitable humiliation and radicalization that ensue, cannot be regarded as secondary to anachronistic grievances Mr. Ajami may have against Yasir Arafat.
Jareer Kassis
High Point, N.C., June 19, 2007
Here are the two letters the Times chose to publish in response to Ajami's essay. Ms Kapen's approach is very close to my own. Jareer Kassis's letter reflects the very problem Ajami has tried to identify. If Kassis's fellow Palestinians respond similarly, the future is bleak indeed.
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