An editorial in this morning’s New York Times is worth answering, because it illuminates some of the myths that also influence the actions of the American State Department and the Europeans. “Israel’s assassination of one of Hamas’s leaders seems counterproductive,” the Times editorialists write.”The Palestinians asked for 24 hours to act, and the Israelis agreed to wait. Nothing happened. Still, it is far from clear what would have been lost by giving the Palestinians more time.”

In fact, what would have been lost was clear yesterday to anyone who isn’t either a French diplomat or a New York Times editorialist. What would have been lost are the lives of more Jews who would be killed in terrorist attacks like the one on Tuesday. Jews like Goldie Taubenfeld, the 43-year-old mother of 13 who was planning to donate a kidney to a stranger before she was killed Tuesday along with her 5-month-old son. The picture of the slain 5-month old, from Rockland County, New York, was on page one of the New York Post and the Daily News yesterday. It was on page 8 of The New York Sun. It wasn’t in the Times. Maybe the Times editorialists missed the New York papers and that’s why they couldn’t figure out what would have been lost.

The editorial goes on to assert that the Palestinian Arab leaders, Mahmoud Abbas and Muhammad Dahlan, “have been weakkneed in keeping commitments under the peace plan, known as the road map. But the Israelis have also failed to carry out their commitments on ending settlement activity. Both sides need to act now.” This moral equivalence — between failure to prevent cold-blooded murder, on the one hand, and a real estate issue, on the other hand — is senseless. There is no “but.”There is no justification for bombing a bus — or allowing the bombing of a bus — carrying Goldie Taubenfeld and her 5-month old. Even Israel’s supposed failure to end settlement activity does not provide such a justification.

The Times editorial concludes that Prime Minister Sharon “must realize that there is no alternative to Mr. Abbas, who is committed to a peaceful two-state solution. If Mr. Abbas is forced from power, it will probably be a while before anyone else will step forward.” Well, for one thing, Tuesday’s bombing threw Mr. Abbas’s commitment to a “peaceful”solution into question, not that it had been well-established to begin with. And it’s just not accurate that there are no alternatives. This newspaper has written about two Palestinian Arabs, Omar Karsou and Issam Abu Issa, who have been bold enough to speak out about the corruption of Yasser Arafat and the crowd of cronies that surrounds him — a crowd that emphatically includes Mr. Abbas. There are more like Mr. Karsou and Mr. Abu Issa who would emerge the moment America makes clear that it will stop “giving the Palestinians more time” and begins insisting on transparency, democracy, and decency.