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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Nov. 4, 2004
/ 19 Mar-Cheshvan, 5765
Above everything else, Arafat was a shrewd geopolitician who knew how to manipulate the world to his — not his ‘people's’ — advantage
By
Zev Chafets
What the Egyptian-born ‘Palestinian’'s successor needs to know in order to survive
http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
I once asked a Palestinian friend who lives in the West Bank how he managed to criticize Yasser Arafat out loud and stay alive. This was years ago, shortly after Palestine Liberation Organization gunmen had murdered a mutual acquaintance of ours, a Palestinian merchant named Joncho, in the doorway of his shop in downtown Ramallah.
"Joncho had a small family," he said. "I belong to a big clan. I have relatives in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, all over."
"So?"
My friend smiled thinly. "Arafat knows he can't touch me. My family would take revenge. We have guns, too."
There have always been two Yasser Arafats. One was the international Arafat — revolutionary performance artist, terrorist pioneer and, in later years, elder statesman. That's the Arafat who appeared at the United Nations with a pistol in his belt, the Arafat who hobnobbed with popes and presidents and won the Nobel Prize for Peace.
International Arafat always has been a master diplomat and astute geopolitician. He realized early that Arab dictators would pay to keep the Palestinian issue alive because it gave them an all-purpose diversion from the disaster they were wreaking on their own societies. He became custodian of the Palestinian grievance for everyone from Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser to the Saudi Royal Family, from Libya's Moammar Khadafy to Saddam Hussein.
Arafat also was lucky in his choice of enemies. Third World nationalists do not usually attract much attention — just ask the Kurds. But taking on Israel put Arafat in the big leagues. He became a hero to the Soviet bloc and, later, to European "progressives" who never really have seen the need for a Jewish state.
But no matter how many capitals he visited, no matter how many accolades he received, there always was a second Arafat, a neighborhood bully for whom all politics was local — and violent.
This Arafat has dominated Palestinian political life for decades for the simplest of reasons: He has always had the most guns.
Local Arafat was, in his prime, a powerful warlord, but his rule was never absolute. There were lines he could not cross. He rarely went after the sons of powerful clans. And he did not alienate the Palestinian mainstream by making peace with Israel.
True, Arafat came close during the Oslo process. But at Camp David in 2000, he pulled back when he saw that his people would not stand for it.
An agreement would have been seen as an act of betrayal, and Arafat did not have enough guns to make it stick.
Instead, he turned the guns on Israel. The intifadeh was an all-or-nothing gamble, and Arafat lost. For the past two years, he has been holed up in a wrecked bunker, surrounded by flunkies, watching himself disappear. But at least he stayed alive.
Arafat may survive his current medical crisis, too. But he is 75, visibly diminished and detached from reality. His coterie will try to keep him propped up, Oz-like, as long as possible. But that won't be for long.
Who will replace Arafat? There are two answers. Western diplomats almost certainly will seize on one Abu or another as their designated statesman. But eventually this figurehead will run up against the local reality that Arafat both fostered and accepted: The majority of Palestinians do not want peace if it requires a compromise with Israel.
Arafat's real heir will be someone who understands this. Like Arafat, he will be the guy with the most guns and the shrewdest sense of where he can use them — and what Palestinian red lines he cannot cross without winding up dead.
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JWR contributor Zev Chafets is a columnist for The New York Daily News. Comment by clicking here.
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© 2004, NY Daily News
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