The June 1 letter, "No balance in U.S. Palestinian policy," had difficulty reconciling the "two-state solution" with the need for Israel to remain a Jewish state and the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people. That is not so difficult.

Israel's leaders have been endeavoring for years, unfortunately unsuccessfully, to induce the Palestinian Arabs to sit down with them for serious and good-faith negotiations without preconditions.

Israel's objective is to end the conflict by reaching agreement on the parameters of yet another Arab state, to exist side-by-side in peace with the Jewish state.

Achieving a "two-state solution" is the stated policy of Israel's leaders and of the United States. While there are complicated issues to resolve, such as borders, water rights and provisions for Israel's security in such a hostile and unstable area, the concept of the "two-state solution" is not inherently inconsistent with the preservation of Israel as a Jewish state.