Backing up the argument: Israel is the only country in the world whose judiciary system has squarely faced the difficult issue of whether it is ever justified to engage in even a modified form of non-lethal torture, in order to obtain information deemed necessary to prevent specific terrorist actions. The practice was outlawed by the Israeli Supreme Court in 1999. In contrast to Israel, the Egyptians, the Jordanians, and the Palestinians routinely torture suspects. Israel’s record on the issue of torture is far better than that of any other Middle Eastern or Muslim nations, and better than that of most democracies. Yet only Israel is repeatedly condemned for engaging in torture. No criticism is heard about the widespread use of torture by countries other than Israel, certainly not against countries that torture political dissidents routinely, while facing far lesser threats than Israel faces. This double standard began at the UN, where far more time, attention and condemnation have been directed at Israel’s former use of non-lethal physical pressure to elicit lifesaving information than at lethal torture currently employed by many regimes, including the Palestinian Authority, against mere political opponents, dissidents, and collaborators. Those who accuse only Israel of using torture, without condemning the far more brutal and less justifiable practices of other Middle Eastern nations, are employing an inexcusable double standard. ( See background )