Heretics' almanac

Arafat's last blunder

The French government accorded Arafat's earthly remains the respect due to a head of state, flew them to Cairo where a rather meager selection of dignitaries participated in the official funeral, and then off the casket went to Ramallah, where amid utter anarchy it was interred in a crypt Saeb Erakat vows is only temporary, until he can be buried on Mount Moriah.  Israel says that Jerusalem is the burial state for Jewish kings, not terrorists; so don't expect Arafat to be moved anytime soon.

In the meantime, Slate has resurrected a number of articles about Arafat, among them one by Robert Wright, written in April, 2002.

Robert Wright is sympathetic to Arafat's position at Camp David and Taba.  He says that Arafat scarcely could have done differently, given the position of the Palestinians.

Write his name(s) on the bottom of your shoes

As could be expected, the press is scrounging for soundbites about the overdue demise of Yasser Arafat, aka Abdel-Rahman Abdel-Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini, aka Abu Amar.  Here are some examples:

• "From guerilla icon to peace prize" - Aftenposten
• "Arafat, father and leader of Palestinian nationalism" - New York Times
• "Mr. Palestine" - the Guardian

Not to be outdone, official reactions run along the lines of:

• Afafat "came to symbolize the Palestinian national movement," according to Tony Blair
• Arafat's death was a "great loss to the Palestinian people," says Gerhard Schröder
• "With him disappears the man of courage and conviction who, for 40 years, has incarnated the Palestinians' combat for recognition of their national rights. May the loss that they have just suffered unite the Palestinians." - who else? Jacques Chirac
• "In him the Palestinian people, both within and outside the Palestinian Territories, have lost an historic leader and a democratically elected president, whose devotion and single-minded commitment to the Palestinian national cause throughout his life was never in doubt," is what the EU says
• Arafat "dedicated his life to the Palestinian people's just cause, the fight for their inalienable right to create an independent state, which would coexist with Israel within recognized and secure borders." - Putin
• And so on....

Weasel words, to be sure, but also blatant historical revisionism.  Let's be clear here:

Arafat not getting any better (thank heavens)

Yasser Arafat, whose real name is Rahman Abdul Rauf el-Qudwa al-Husseini, is ill.

Stories about his illness is reminiscent of accounts you read about the death of kings of yore. Lots of running around, huge pressure on the physicians, people coming in to either say their goodbyes or mark their allegiance, lots of misinformation and speculation. Everyone outside wondering what's going to happen next, and who will take over.

His wife flew in from Paris, visiting him for the first time in six years. The doctors are supposedly saying he needs to go to Paris for treatment (and his wife is probably saying "Damn! I traveled all the way to this hellhole for nothing?") Arafat supposedly refuses. There are undoubtedly medical facilities a few miles away in Israel that treat him, but Arafat is probably not inclined to ask the Israelis for help, and if he dies they'll blame the doctors.

Rumor also has it that likely successors are playing it cool, since they're worried what might happen to them if Arafat recovers. Something called officiousness, according to Debka.

Arafat may just be sick with anxiety

Sharon's disengagement plan won by a significant margin in the Knesset, and it's just another curious twist of Israeli politics that he won from his opposition what he lost with his party members. Bibi Netanyahu, Yisrael Katz, and Danny Naveh have threatened to quit the government unless Sharon also puts this matter to a referendum.

From what I can tell, most Israelis favor the disengagement plan. It's one of those curious propositions that is attractive both to some hawks and doves, for altogether different reasons.

Hawks like Sharon favor it because they are prepared to let the Palestinians and the UN stew in their own mess and not get blamed for all their misery. They have every intention of demolishing tunnels, shooting infiltrators, and conducting raids against launch sites, bomb factories, and wanted terrorists. But they want to make it as simple as possible, and that precludes mixing Israeli communities in with the Arabs.

The doves favor it because a) they think the settlements are an abomination and a threat to peace and stability; and b) they want the Palestinians to get their society-building settled.

Meanwhile, analysts predict anarchy in the entire strip. The Egyptian army is working closely with the Israelis from having it spill over into the Sinai, and there are indications of a full civil war. No wonder Arafat is feeling sick - he's probably sick from anxiety.

UNRWA is a disservice to the Palestinians

Hamas - knowing that this kind of logic appeals to most Europeans - has told Israel they they (Hamas) will stop shooting rockets at Israelis when Israelis stop trying so hard to prevent such launches.

This is old, familiar, and tired logic - Israel causes terrorist attacks on her own citizens by trying to prevent such attacks from happening. If Israel would only let Hamas, PIJ, and Fatah do whatever they wanted, Israel should feel assured that these organizations - who can't stop talking about destroying Israel - would surely choose to not go ahead with their plans. The logic is that they are more likely to do certain things when they're easy to do than when they're hard to do.

Lock an alcoholic in a fully stocked bar to prevent him from drinking.

In any event, the IDF has shared footage that shows Palestinian terrorists using a UN-marked ambulance for transporting rockets.

This is a problem.