Editor, The Beacon:

I was glad to see The Beacon article about the sheriff’s and the DeLand police chief’s support for our Jewish community over their tragic losses in Israel, but I was saddened to hear that Palestinian, Arabic and Muslim Stetson students were “lying low” as a result of hostility and violence against their cultures, in spite of their own tragic losses in Israel.

Regardless of what one thinks about Hamas vs. the Israeli government, it shouldn’t have to be pointed out that a whole culture should not be defined by the actions of some members of that culture.

It is a fact that the majority of mass murderers in this country have been white. Does that mean that all white people are mass murderers?

The Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims in this country also need our support, not mistreatment for the actions of a violent faction in Israel. This terrible loss of innocent lives should remind us where prejudice and intolerance lead.

Stephen Tonjes

DeLand