Days of Terror

To the Editors: Your assertion in "Israel Severs the Arm" [March 27] that "as might have been expected, the Israeli response vastly exceeded the provocation" is outrageous. What would you recommend as an appropriate response to the wanton murder of innocent babies, children and adults by terrorists who brazenly claim credit and then hide behind a national boundary and prepare to strike again? The Israeli response was restrained.

Mel Waldgeir San Antonio

Menachem Begin may have "severed the arm," but in so doing he clearly gave the P.L.O. a much needed victory. The savagery of the bus attack pales when compared with the indiscriminate and "safe" slaughter of civilians launched by a supposedly "responsible" government.

Peter Barzyk Erie, Pa.

Begin might be everything from an "unrepentant" former guerrilla leader to the head of a divided Cabinet, to a man who wants peace. But one thing Begin knows for sure is that those who kill Jews in our time cannot enjoy impunity. Maybe Begin is the right person at the right time if Israel is to survive terrorism.

Reuben T. Mugerwa Berrien Springs, Mich.

The latest barbarous Israeli attacks against the civilians in southern Lebanon remind me of the true face of the aggressive, militant Israelis, whose real intent is to kill the innocent, occupy the land and expand at the expense of others.

Riad Hussein Buffalo

The massive Israeli attack launched into Lebanon may assuage the outraged emotions of the Israelis. However, the destruction of P.L.O. camps has also claimed hundreds of innocent lives. The seeds for future revenge have again been sown. Despite the severity of the invasion, Israeli borders are still not secure.

Joseph Elias Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

So what's the difference? It seems to be murder of women and children on both sides.

Tony van Renterghem Malibu, Calif.

Congratulations to President Carter for indicating that Israel does not completely determine policy for the U.S. It is time that our Government paid some attention to the needs and interests of its own people.

Gordon M. Jones Evanston, Ill.

TIME, in describing the Administration's Middle East arms package as coupling "15 ultrasophisticated F-15 fighter-bombers to Israel with the delivery of four times that number of F-15s to Saudi Arabia," failed to mention that the U.S. has already sold Israel 25 F-15 aircraft beyond the 15 in the package and that the current proposal also includes 75 F-16 advanced fighters for Israel.

The point is that Israel's military superiority, particularly in the air, is well established. The existing basic military balance in the region will not be affected by the Administration's current package. This Administration, like its predecessors, is determined that Israel will have the necessary arms to defend itself.

Lucy Wilson Benson Under Secretary of State for Security Assistance, Science and Technology Washington, D.C.

Panama Treaties

The Senate's approval of the Panama Canal neutrality treaty was, in spite of the "reservations," a step in the right direction [March 27]. Arguments both for and against the treaties are sound. However, it merely requires simple logic to ascertain that while ratification of these treaties will not necessarily guarantee perpetual euphoria, failure to do so can only induce grim repercussions. Panama is a time bomb that the Senate must defuse with caution, by approving the resolution of ratification.

Eloy A. Haughton San Francisco

How many more shaky agreements will Mr. Carter make in the future, believing pressure on the Senate will bail him out? To preserve "the effectiveness of the presidency" is the worst possible reason to vote for any treaty.

The President will have long gone when our children and grandchildren have to face the consequences of his recklessness. It is the security of the U.S. that is the important point, not the image of Jimmy Carter.

Jane Kelly Orinda, Calif.

Zorinsky's Vote

Congratulations to Senator Edward Zorinsky [March 27] for doing his job: representing the people of Nebraska who elected him. I hope his constituents appreciate how he respected their wishes, despite the pressure from President Carter to vote for the Panama Canal treaty.

Kaye C. Cook Columbus

While I admire Senator Zorinsky's zest for independent decision making, I feel the story illuminates a faulty, if common, misconception of senatorial responsibility. With respect to matters of broad national concern, a legislator should represent his constituency by making the decision he feels will best serve the overall interest of the country. A Senator who makes every judgment while looking toward the next election serves neither his country nor his state.

Richard O. Wolkind Clearwater, Fla.

Pulling Back

Thank God for people like Dean Rosovsky who want to reinstate a "core curriculum" for Harvard's undergraduates [March 27]. I see no substance in the arguments of those who oppose him. We all want students to think for themselves, but this can best be done by studying the great thinkers of all time, which a good core curriculum will provide. Students and faculty can grow closer when they can share solid ideas based on rich academic backgrounds.

(Sister) Yolanda T. Demola Fordham University New York City

Harvard's Dean Rosovsky's idea of what makes a well-educated person will produce pompous graduates who know a little about everything and a lot about nothing. Their degrees will be mere status symbols.

What education should really be addressing itself to is the training of creative thinkers: people with new ideas who will be capable of solving the many complex problems that face us.

This is the age of specialization. No need for every baker to be also a butcher.

Mike Wilson Jackson, Mich.

Blacks on TV

TIME's Essay, "Blacks on TV: A Disturbing Image" [March 27], was well taken and timely. As those of us who study television know, however, the question is still one of economics. While it is true that sponsors can now be found for programs with black principals, those programs are still aimed at a primarily white audience, an audience that is perceived by the sponsors and producers of the programs as being more affluent and therefore more able to purchase the products hawked on the program.

When blacks are seen by the sponsors and producers as a significant economic force, then high quality programming (or at least as good as the rest of TV) will magically appear.

Terry Vaughn Valley Forge, Pa.

I agree wholeheartedly with Lance Morrow. As a young black law student, I find it distressing to know that the image potential white jurors have of blacks is often shaped by TV.

Ernest F. McAdams Jr. Cincinnati

I don't think black leaders, teachers and psychologists claim so much that the black TV image is distorted; they are irritated because the medium is exploiting a reality of black culture, perpetuating what is, but what the black leaders would like to make into what was.

Tom Savage Menard, Ill.

Furor over Reincarnation

I am quite dismayed that there should be a furor over David Weltha's teaching of reincarnation at Iowa State University in Ames [March 27]. I was always under the impression that we send our children to college to learn about existing theories and knowledge in the universe. We surely expose them to the concepts of Communism, genocide and terrorism, as well as other world dynamics that have a significant effect on the human condition.

Reincarnation is an existing philosophy. It is felt to be valid by millions of people around the world and in various cultures, currently and historically. To disallow this subject in college is in itself primitive and "blatant nonsense."

Anita Temple New York City

A professor should eliminate myths and superstitions, not encourage them.

David Rubin New York City

Professor Patterson, Weltha's adversary, is surely right. Suppose that in my classes I were to justify my answers to philosophical questions by saying that they had been revealed to me in a communion with the Absolute. I believe that the university would have the right, in deed the obligation, to silence me. If Professor Wertha is maintaining that the supposed phenomena concerning auras, reincarnation, etc. have been factually established, then I believe he ought to be silenced or removed.

Elmer D. Klemke Iowa State University Ames, Iowa

60 Minutes

In reading the article "60-Minute Dash" [March 27], I was aghast at the comment from ABC's Bob Shanks that 60 Minutes is "pontifical and humorless" and that its 14-minute pieces seem too long.

Has it occurred to ABC that perhaps people watch 60 Minutes because it is not slick, filled with frequent humor, and does not slide quickly over items?

Mrs. Lawrence E. Fisher West Hartford, Conn.

Dan Rather--"not so handsome"? I suppose the man who wrote the article (it had to be a man) thinks Robert Redford is downright ugly.

Anne Teresa Anderson Albany

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