LETTERS

Re “Armed with a belief in peace,” Column One, Nov. 4

I applaud The Times for educating a poorly informed public about events in Palestine that are seldom publicized in the media.

Edith Cacciatore

Novato

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This article was welcome, honest reporting about a Palestinian’s nonviolent protest.

Unfortunately, The Times still couldn’t resist editorializing, stating that Palestinians live in “a culture that enshrines the language of the gun, even if most Palestinians have never used one,” while neglecting to mention that Israeli culture not only enshrines weapons -- nearly everyone serves in the military and therefore uses a gun -- but that it uses weapons far more deadly against a largely civilian population on a regular basis.

Paul Hershfield

Venice

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For The Times to make this statement -- “The Israeli army has targeted him. He was arrested, severely beaten and threatened with death during a series of midnight raids” -- without further explanation can only be seen as inflammatory.

Nowhere do you explain or support what “severely beaten” means. This statement wasn’t a quote from the victim. What did you mean? What evidence convinced you of the truthfulness of the claim? Or are you just eager to pick sides?

Dale Schatz

Westwood