letters.

• Position: Letter to the Editor

One Life, Many Lessons

Muhammad al-Durrah was just another schoolboy going shopping with his father ("The Death of Innocence," News and Trends, 10/30/00). They hid behind a wall, hoping nothing would happen to them. Instead, Muhammad got shot and died. The thought of it made my whole body shake. I got the chills and I wanted to go crazy.

When I was young, I never used to say where I came from. But as I grew older, I came to realize that there's nothing wrong with where I'm from--Palestine. Now I'm proud of who I am. We might throw rocks, but that's the only thing we have. Why won't two leaders come to an agreement and stop all the violence?

HANA SALEH West Palm Beach, Fla.

Although I did sympathize with the poor Palestinian boy who was killed in the Gaza Strip, as a Jew, I think you made the Israelis look like bloodthirsty bullies. A small caption did not cut it for a story like this. What about the tens of thousands of others, both Jewish and Palestinian, killed in Israel during this breakout of violence?

ADAM TANNENBAUM Brooklyn, N.Y.

I am sympathetic for the 12-year-old boy who was killed, because he was around my age. However, yours is a one-sided article. Why was the school closed? The reason was that there was a Palestinian strike. Some crazy Palestinians threw rocks and provoked Israeli soldiers to fire bullets. You fail to mention this. Also, you fail to mention how idiotic it is for a father to bring his son to a place where bullets are being fired.

ALEX CLOUGH Brooklyn, N.Y.

Why show a picture of a father and son having their last breaths? Please be more careful when choosing a picture for a magazine read by all ages.

JEREMY MADDOX North Powder, Ore.

I cannot believe how terrible this is. Both of these groups of soldiers...