I wrote the following letter in response to a recent Op-Ed by Former President Jimmy Carter. It was published in the New York Times on November 13, 2004.

To the Editor:

According to former President Jimmy Carter ("Casting a Vote for Peace," Op-Ed, Nov. 12), there was no "serious violence" by either Israelis or Palestinians from the signing of the Oslo accords until the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

From the signing of the Oslo Accords on Sept. 13, 1993, until the murder of Mr. Rabin on Nov. 4, 1995, 77 Israeli, American and Dutch nationals were murdered in eight separate bombings carried out by Palestinian terrorists. In a single bombing, 22 were killed while riding on a bus in Tel Aviv. In February 1994, the Kahanist Dr. Baruch Goldstein gunned down 29 Muslims during prayers at the Cave of the Patriarchs in the city of Hebron.

I find it shocking that a politician dedicated to the pursuit of peace would not view this violence as serious.

Alan D. Miller
Pasadena, Calif., Nov. 12, 2004