To the Editor:

"Rescuing the World's Girls" (June 2005) misses the point about the phenomenon of teen suicide bombers.  While David France attempts to depict what happened to Yusra Abdu, a 17-year-old Palestinian girl now in prison serving a 15 month sentence for planning a suicide mission against Israelis as a tale of "Love and Terror," what has actually occurred in Palestinian society is a very unfortunate yet true tale of the adoration of suicide bombers as martyrs and heroes.  For years, in schools, summer camps, mosques, children's television programs and in music videos, Palestinian children have been taught that there is nothing more honorable -- and in many cases more romantic-- than dying in the fight against Israel.

Palestinian girls will be rescued when their leaders say "No" to the incitement, hate and violence that has permeated their political and cultural landscape for years now.  To place blame for the start of that violence on Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is just one of the too numerous to mention biases and inaccuracies that saturate this report.

As Israeli mothers of daughters our fervent hope is for the two societies - and our children - to live in peace and security. That can happen when the new Palestinian leadership sets the stage so that Palestinian girls and boys will not  be manipulated and used as fodder by terrorists to perpetrate acts that harm both their Israeli neighbors and ultimately themselves.