Sir: In his article 'Israel: the awkward truth' (19 February)
Christopher Hitchens is in fact saying that Israel was directly responsi- ble for the massacre in Sabra and Chatila, in the same way as a person who hires a hit man to do his killing for him is directly responsible and therefore guilty of murder.
To support this false comparison, Mr Hitchens twists the meaning of the Kahan Commission Report. The Kahan Report established several points crucial to the understanding of what is meant by 'indirect responsibility'. They are: 1) That the massacre was perpetrated en- tirely by the Phalange militiamen. No Israeli soldier or civilian entered the camps with the Phalangists. Therefore the Israeli army was not implicated.
2) The Phalangists were allowed to enter the camps for the sole purpose of deal- ing with armed Palestinians. They were indeed briefed and warned not to harm non-combatants.
3) From where the Israelis were positioned they could perhaps hear but certainly not see what was going on in the narrow alleys of the camps.
The Kahan Commission then found Begin, Sharon, Shamir, Eitan and several IDF commanders — but the Defence Minister Sharon in particular — 'indirectly responsible', in varying degree, for what happened in the camps.
In forming this opinion the Commission concluded that each of these men, by virtue of his position and role, could and should have acted to prevent the massacre from happening and bring it to an early halt once it started. The Commission did not find that any of these men, or indeed any Israeli however remotely involved, had motives for wanting the Palestinians killed. This is en- tirely Mr Hitchens's contribution.
Christopher Hitchens is entitled to his views — even if they are not anchored in reality. But if he raises the question whether `certain commentators' who would accuse him of 'harbouring a prejudice against the Jewish people' should now eat their words, the answer, on the basis of his article must be 'No'.
George Garai
General Secretary, The Zionist Federation, Balfour House, 741 High Road, Finchley, London N12
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