 |
|
February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
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
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Dec. 1, 2003
/ 6 Kislev, 5764
Let's Make Believe
By
Jonathan Tobin
New 'peace' proposals ignore facts about Arafat and the world he rules
http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
Throughout the period of post-Oslo euphoria, the consistent theme sounded by
Israel's left and their cheering section abroad was that "you make peace with
your enemies, not your friends."
There was a certain logic to that; obviously, violent conflicts are not
conducted by allies. The correct rejoinder was to state that one made peace with
former enemies, not those still engaged in the business of war. But that point
rarely made the same impact as the original slogan.
The intervening decade of Palestinian terrorism and broken promises took most
of the air out of the peace-camp balloon. But the human capacity for holding
on to hope, as well as for self-deception, should never be underestimated.
After three years of a bloody intifada, many on the left are back to their old
tricks — we're hearing more and more about how Israel must make more
concessions to achieve that elusive final peace with the Palestinians.
A so-called "Geneva Initiative" was recently reached by a few failed Israeli
politicians with some of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's underlings. This
ploy, paid for and promoted by the Swiss and other Europeans who are hostile
to Israel, added on to the concessions offered by former Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Barak in 2000. Even Barak has been quoted as saying that the thing is
insane.
Another initiative is a petition promoted by Ami Ayalon, a former Israeli
intelligence chief.
Both these efforts have gained the applause of the world and been
relentlessly promoted by the Western news media.
DEATH, TAXES AND ARAFAT
The problem is, they are doomed to fail, just as the Oslo accords and all
those plans put forward before and since were similarly doomed. If there is
anything in this life that is certain, other than death and taxes, it's that Arafat
and the empire of terror, corruption and hate he created will thwart all
efforts for peace. All the goodwill in the world will not change this.
Despite the hot air expended promoting the various plans, most people in the
United States don't seem to understand the Palestinian leader too well.
That makes the new biography of Arafat by think-tank scholar Barry Rubin and
his wife, journalist Judith Colp Rubin, Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography,
essential reading for anyone hoping to comprehend the situation.
The couple, who has been studying their subject for decades, assert that the
rejection of Barak's peace offer at Camp David in July 2000 is the key to t
heir thesis about Arafat. Had his primary goal been to establish a Palestinian
state and improve the situation of his people, then he would have said yes to
that offer, or to the even better deal offered several months later at Taba,
Egypt. But his refusal left them with no alternative but to conclude that he was
primarily a "romantic revolutionary."
His career has been, they assert, a remarkable paradox. He has been the
unchallenged leader of the Palestinians for decades; he also created the paradigm
for modern terrorism, and managed the incredible feat of simultaneously
carrying out mass murder while garnering sympathy from the Western press.
But his brethren have gotten little from this. The authors write that the
"ultimate irony" of Arafat's life is that "the man who did more than anyone else
to champion and advance the Palestinian cause also inflicted years of
unnecessary suffering on his people, delaying any beneficial redress of their
grievances or solutions to their problems."
The book shows that Arafat has repeated the same pattern in every chapter of
his life. His goal is to give the other side the impression that just one more
concession is all that's needed to achieve peace. After he receives that
concession, he asks for more. He is a great negotiator, able to wear down his
opponents. But the man doesn't know how to say yes, and has let every chance for a
deal go by the wayside.
Part of this is his well-established habit of using front groups — which he
pretends are radical dissident factions — to do the dirty work for him. That
makes Arafat look "moderate," and literally allows him to get away with murder.
The most famous example of this was the so-called "Black September"
terrorist group that carried out the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre. That pattern was
repeated in the last three years with the establishment of the Al Aksa Martyrs
Brigade to carry out terrorism against Israelis. Reputable news organizations
still carry Arafat's condemnations of their atrocities without noting that he
is the paymaster and ultimate commander of the group.
Despite the siege imposed on him by Israel, he has maintained his mafia-like
control over virtually every aspect of Palestinian life. Those who imagine
that an alternative leadership might emerge while he's alive are kidding
themselves.
AN IMMOVABLE OBSTACLE
And that's where the latest talk about peace runs straight into a brick wall.
As the couple's scholarship illustrates, Arafat is obsessed not with founding
a nation, but by the fear that history will portray him as the man who "sold
Palestine to the Jews." By that, he means legitimizing the Jewish presence in
any part of the country, including Israel in its pre-1967 borders.
He is, therefore, the primary and immovable obstacle to any chance of peace.
That means that the Bush administration policy seeking to eliminate him from
the peace process is quite right. But given the fact that all proposed
alternatives to him are mere feints, the administration's push for Israeli concessions
to encourage such alternatives are as wrong-headed as their conclusions about
Arafat are correct.
Someday, Arafat will die, and that may change things. It is possible that his
successors will be better. But given the dynamic of hate for Israel and Jews
that has governed Palestinian life — especially education — under Arafat,
there is little reason for optimism. Arafat's legacy of rejectionism may well
doom peace efforts for the foreseeable future and beyond.
That is not a comforting thought, and I don't doubt that many will continue
chipping away at Israel's bargaining position to reach an objective that simply
cannot be achieved. Such persons will accuse the realists of dooming the
Jewish people to endless conflict. But the truth is, that choice has already been
made by the other side.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent.
Let him know what you think by clicking here. In June, Mr. Tobin won first places honors in the American
Jewish Press Association's Louis Rapaport Award for Excellence in Commentary as
well as the Philadelphia Press Association's Media Award for top weekly
columnist. Both competitions were for articles written in the year 2002.
Jonathan Tobin Archives
© 2003, Jonathan Tobin
|
