Letter: Global silence on the slaughter of Israelis

Sir: Had there been as much condemnation worldwide, by governments as well as the media, of the murder of 31 Israeli civilians by Arab terrorists since the signing of the peace accord last September, Baruch Goldstein's mind might not have snapped and the slaughter at the Hebron mosque might never have taken place.

By tacitly accepting continued Arab attacks on Jews as inevitable, while using the action of one demented individual as a stick to beat Israel and the Jewish people, the international community does not give the impression that it favours a just peace in the Middle East.

A few years ago, when a deranged Egyptian policeman gunned down a group of innocent Israeli tourists (including women and children) at Ras Burka in the Sinai, and his colleagues would not allow first aid to be given to some of the wounded who were bleeding to death, it was Israeli restraint, in the face of extreme provocation, that saved the peace treaty with Egypt.

Similar restraint on the Arab side now would no doubt help to get the peace talks back on track.

Yours sincerely,

RUTH WILLERS

Wembley Park,

Middlesex

28 February