Clinton Is No Help : LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Regarding "Peres Is the Right Bet" (Editorial, May 2):

The editorial erroneously says that President Bill Clinton has helped Prime Minister Shimon Peres's election campaign by praising him; by relieving Israel of all challenges to "its over-the-line reprisal bombings," and by promising to "firm up" Israel's defenses against missile and rocket attacks. But polls taken from the beginning of Operation Grapes of Wrath until after the agreement to end it had been reached showed that Mr. Peres's support slipped, to a minority of Jewish voters, and that some Arabs who formerly supported Mr. Peres now responded as "uncertain."

Operation Grapes of Wrath and President Clinton's goodies for Mr. Peres are not producing victory champagne. Most Israelis are dissatisfied with the agreement. Grapes of Wrath was not retaliatory; it was supposed to bring changes that would foster peace and security.

Israelis don't enjoy shelter under the conspicuous U.S. political umbrella. New defense technology won't help face down the "damaging charge" that Mr. Peres is "soft on security." The security that concerns Israelis relates to the peace process, in which Mr. Peres minimizes the importance of territory and accentuates that of technology.

Many Israelis are aware of technology's limitations. Shortly after the Gulf War began, the United States said all Iraqi Scud-launching pads had been destroyed. Then the Patriot failed to destroy any of the incoming Scuds.