All indications seem to indicate that the lunacy that has been incubating in the Middle East and Asia is no longer a disease confined to one area. it has come to all the world, on a scale that threatens civilization itself. It has dwarfed the concerns of the protagonists in the Palestine - Israel conflict. The realities of the Middle East have been slammed home at Americans in a way they cannot afford to ignore. Though it is certainly too late now, the attacks should highlight the urgent necessity of education for peace and non-violence in the Middle East. It cannot be a luxury item any longer.

There are many who seem to have missed the message, and go on with business as usual. Journalists like Robert Fisk, in the Independent, are hawking their usual "hate Israel, hate America" warez; Saddam Hussein delivered himself of a speech that read like a caricature in a bad Hollywood movie about Arabs, of the type that would arouse the ire of the ADC. There are others who have failed to understand what happened on September 11, and what it must mean. They think they can "leverage" on this event to push this or that cause. It is not business as usual any more.

Those of us engaged in dialog or peace activities must realize now that extremist talk, if encouraged, can and does lead to extremist actions, and that extending compassion and understanding to criminal psychopaths can cost the lives of thousands of innocent people. Every person connected with the Middle East must understand that these barbaric attacks are not intended to bring justice to anyone, but rather to satisfy the power cravings of megalomaniacs who are exploiting grievances for their own ends. Americans must not transfer the guilt of the relatively few who planned these attacks to all Moslems or all Arabs. At the same time, all countries of the world and of the Middle East must recognize that the safety of all of us depends on zero tolerance for terrorists and for those who encourage, justify, glorify and harbor these malefactors and those who spread hate and incitement. Anyone who continues to make excuses for this madness and to encourage appeasement of those who carry it out has aligned themselves with the enemies of humanity.

Americans do not need our compassion. They need our cooperation, the cooperation of every country in the world and every individual who seeks peace, in rooting out those who committed these crimes and those who helped them, to ensure that such attacks will never happen again, and to ensure that justifiable anger is turned to rational action and not blind and ineffective retribution against innocent people.

Ami Isseroff

Rehovot, Israel

Despite All - Shana Tova - A happy New Year to all our Jewish readers

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