Sir, - Stanley Siev (May 2nd) claims that Prof Edward Said calls for "Israel's disappearance as a sovereign state". This is a distortion. Said's point of view is that the current religiously based and apartheid state that exists (most of the land in Israel can be owned only by Jews) should be replaced by a secular state based on equality between Jews and non-Jews.
Prof Said doesn't dispute the right of Jewish people to live in the region. He merely points out that they don't have the right to deny others this right. However, Mr Siev is correct when he says that Professor Said is "beyond the pale of mainstream thinking in the region and outside". There has been a vicious and relentless campaign against Prof Said and his ideas, especially in America.
Mainstream thinking in the region is geared towards preserving the hegemony of the Israeli state. It is hostile to ideas, such as Prof Said's, that try to resolving the conflict by applying long-overdue fairness towards all the people that live in Palestine. - Yours, etc.,
David Landy, Tampere, Finland.