Middle East propaganda
Sir: The first paragraph of Mr Roger Stacey's letter (January 25) strikes the note of inaccuracy which pervades his entire letter. I refer to his sarcastic reference to his "shock of discovering that you actually found space for some material favourable to the Arab cause." He is apparently unaware that writers in The Spectator have on numerous occasions been favourable (sometimes even biased) to the Arab cause — not to mention numerous readers' letters published in The Spectator.
Mr Stacey's sour and sarcastic letter is not worth time and space in detailed comment; but, very briefly, he will doubtless be surprised to know that, absurd though his question is ("why, if the situation is not broadly as Mr Bilainkin describes it, would Arabs and Arab sympathisers find it necessary to resort to paid advertisements?"), it is not, as he alleges so categorically, "unanswerable" — the answer, on the contrary, is very clear and obvious to people with objective and open minds. It is simply that truth speaks for itself — and therefore needs no paid advertisements. Untruths and distortions, in the short or long run, are seen by most people for what they are, and hence need the pseudo-respectability of paid advertisements.
Arabs have a good cause — as have the Israelis — but it is the distortions of their cause that some of them and some of their sympathisers mistakenly feel the need to propagate and advertise. If they would only stick to truth and fact, and not aim to disparage, discredit and abuse the other side, they — including Mr Stacey — would do their cause more good and less harm. They would also at the same time save money which is wasted on abusive and untrue advertisements — money which could be better spent in helping to bring the two
sides closer together, or (if the advertisers do not wish to do that) for some worthy Arab charitable cause.
The greatest danger and hindrance to the Arab cause, and most calculated to push the two sides further apart, is the extreme type of prejudiced and closed mind which is exhibited throughout Mr Stacey's letter. I would nevertheless like to extend to him my good wishes, together with a hope that he may try to 'loosen' his mind and outlook.
L. Gorden London SW1
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