To the Editor:
 
The most outrageous double standard in American media today is the different ways by which Arab countries and Israel are judged in the court of "public opinion," which really means the court of the controlled media.

The American media have given much coverage of the human rights violations in Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, including the gang rape of the 19-year-old Saudi girl who was wrongly sentenced to 20 lashes for her extramarital affairs.

Where is the commensurate coverage on how the Israeli government violates Palestinian human rights? Where is the coverage when the Israelis deliberately drop high explosives on Palestinian apartment buildings, streets, bridges, and power plants, killing dozens of innocent Palestinians?  When more than 9000 Palestinian homes are demolished by Israeli bulldozers causing more than 17,000 children to become homeless, where is the coverage on this kind of human rights violations? 

Is it that the media are afraid of being accused of anti-semitism if they covered the actions of Israel in the same way they covered those of the Arabs? 

Why is evil different in one context than it is in another? 

James J. David

USA

-James J. David is a retired brigadier general who served 3 yrs. U.S. Army active duty in the Middle East.