To the Editor:

Re "Enough Game-Playing" (Editorial, Oct. 29):

You correctly point out that both the Israelis and Palestinians have a responsibility to ensure that negotiations resume and progress, but you misread the significance of Israel's demand that Palestinians accept Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

The conflict, at its core, has never been about territory but about Arab and Palestinian willingness to accept Israel's legitimacy and the concept of a Jewish state. The refugee issue, which you refer to, could have been resolved decades ago if the Palestinians had acknowledged that the Jewish people like all others have the right to sovereignty.

Rather than being an obstacle to peace, resolving this issue -- getting the Palestinians finally to admit to others and themselves that there is a Jewish narrative in the Holy Land as well as their own -- is probably the most critical element in bringing change to the region.