Candor welcomed. (Letters to the Editor).

While one often reads candid introspection among Israelis and American Jews, it is almost unheard of from the Palestinian camp. Hanan Ashrawi's painful self-exploration in February's Progressive is long overdue; leave it to a woman.

Ashrawi asks how the Palestinians have come to such a destructive and bitter impasse. I think it's due to their neglecting to face facts, and instead accepting the hateful rhetoric preached from their media, classrooms, and pulpits.

The Palestinians still seem resistant to accepting the fact that the Israelis are determined to remain in place because they have nowhere else to go, and that the only ounce of goodwill towards the Palestinians in the neighborhood is among Israelis, such as Women in Black and other peace activities within Israel. This is despite horrific suicide bombings directed against Jewish children.

By turning down the generous terms offered by Ehud Barak--and insisting on the impossible demand of the right of return for Palestinians--Yasser Arafat torpedoed the peace process and ensured the election of Ariel Sharon, the single most hated person in the Arab world. Ashrawi's welcome candor, unfortunately, is only a small first step. The Palestinians must take obvious political realities into account. Nationhood is not an inherent right, as peoples from the Chechnyans to the Sioux Indians have learned. And the Israelis will remain the dominant military power in the neighborhood for some time to come.

Stan Kohls
Somis, California