Looking Back at a Massacre in Lebanon Re "A Preventable Massacre," by Seth Anziska (Op-Ed, Sept. 28, 1982, shortly after the tragic turn of events at two Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut, Israel established an official commission of inquiry into the massacre - which, one must remember, was perpetrated by a Lebanese militia and not by Israel. The commission was headed by the president of the Supreme Court at the time, Chief Justice Yitzhak Kahan, and its conclusions still resonate today in Israeli society. Israel is not afraid to face its demons. However, one may wonder why The New York Times chose to focus such great attention on this massacre in Lebanon of 30 years ago, when before our very eyes such massacres take place - unfortunately - on an almost quotidian basis in Syria, and Christian communities and other minorities face troubles throughout the turbulent Middle East. The Middle East is going through many changes and difficulties at the moment, not only in the way it's perceiving the West, but also in re-evaluating the way it's perceiving itself. Israel has always been a pillar of stability in the Middle East, and as a strong beacon of democracy, it stands side by side with the United States in facing today's challenges for a better tomorrow for all of us. SHAHAR AZANI Spokesman Consulate General of Israel New York, Sept. I take issue with "A Preventable Massacre" on several counts. First, arguing that the tragic killings were "preventable" if the Reagan administration had only used its influence over Israel greatly exaggerates American power in the region. A more apt headline would have been "An Inevitable Massacre." As President Reagan proved unable to stop Israeli shelling of Beirut that summer, he surely would not have been able to stop a revenge-seeking Phalange militia dead-set on avenging the death of its recently assassinated leader. Second, Seth Anziska does not account for American complicity. That summer, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, one of Reagan's most trusted advisers, told the president in a top-secret National Security Council meeting that the United States should not stand in the way of Israeli efforts to wipe out the Palestine Liberation Organization. Dr. Kirkpatrick no doubt did not have the tragic killings of civilians in mind, but she recognized that the P.L.O. was very much a terrorist organization working against American interests. President Reagan and Caspar W. Weinberger, then the secretary of defense, agreed with Dr. Kirkpatrick. Third, Mr. Anziska places the majority of the responsibility on Israel. Yes, Ariel Sharon, then the defense minister, deserves much of the blame. But ignoring the culpability of the P.L.O. terrorists who chose to hide out in the civilian camps rather than evacuate Beirut with Yasir Arafat and the rest of the P.L.O. tells only one side of the tragic story. As Reagan tried to do when dealing with Israel and its Arab neighbors, Mr. Anziska would do well with a more balanced approach to this important time period. The writer is the editor of "The Reagan Files" and the creator of www.thereaganfiles.com, a portal for studying the Reagan administration through recently declassified documents. "A Preventable Massacre" is a pointed reminder of just one episode in Israel's long record of brutality toward the Palestinians. The Times is to be commended for publishing it, knowing full well the outraged reaction it can expect. Lost in the backlash will inevitably be Seth Anziska's main point, that America's blind support for Israel amounts not only to an enabling of Israel's atrocities, but also a moral complicity in them. Until the United States adopts a more evenhanded approach in the Middle East, Israel will continue to treat Arab lives as disposable. And with each of these "incidents" comes yet further erosion of any remaining perception that America is an international agent of freedom, democracy and human rights. "Why do they hate us so?" we naïvely ask. The answer is right under our noses, but sometimes it takes courageous journalism to help us see it. RAMSAY M. HARIK Bloomington, Ind., Sept.