The Arafat Voids
- Информация о материале
- Автор: Thomas L. Friedman
The New York Times, Published: November 14, 2004
The day after Yasir Arafat died, USA Today carried a big, bold headline
that caught my eye. It said: "Arafat Dies, Leaves Void."
All I could think of when reading that headline was its double meaning.
Yasir Arafat left a void of leadership, with no formal successor. But he
also left a void of achievement. And it is that second void that really
matters, considering that he led the Palestinian movement for some 40 years.
You will pardon me if I don't join in the insipid chorus about how
Arafat's great achievement was the way he represented the "aspirations"
for statehood of the Palestinian people and, through terrorism and resistance,
put the Palestinian cause on the world map.
Excuse me, but Yasir Arafat put the Palestinian cause on the world
map in 1974, when he was invited to address the U.N. General Assembly.
What did he do with all that attention after that? Very little. There is
a message in his life and his legacy for every world leader: If all you
do is express the aspirations, but never produce the reality, then history
will judge you very harshly. And any honest history of Yasir Arafat will
judge him on his voids, not his visions.
Will we now see the emergence of a Palestinian leadership - a broad
coalition from Hamas to Fatah - ready to take the collective decision to
really reconcile with the Jews that Arafat was not ready to make on his
own?
Will Arab leaders, like Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who
put forth a peace plan, be ready to really help the Palestinians make the
tough decisions by giving them Arab cover? Or will we simply have another
generation of expressive politics by Arab leaders, who love the Palestinian
cause but not the Palestinian people?
Ariel Sharon seems to have already started to learn some of the lessons
of Arafat's life. Mr. Sharon was asked recently what made him change his
mind, and risk his own life and political career, to undertake a unilateral
Israeli withdrawal from Gaza after so many years opposing such a move.
His answer: There were things he could see "from here" that he couldn't
see "from there."
In other words, sitting in the chair of the prime minister, he could
suddenly see the long-term interests of the Israeli people in a different
way.
"Sharon has started to give up his popularity among his own constituency,
because he realizes that the welfare of the Israeli people, as a whole,
requires decisions that are unpopular but unavoidable," said the Israeli
political theorist Yaron Ezrahi. But Sharon cannot stop just with Gaza.
He's got a lot more popularity to give up with his old constituency if
we're going to see a deal on the West Bank.
Finally, what about President Bush? When it comes to the Arab-Israel
question, he's had a little bit of Arafat disease himself. He's given some
of the best speeches of any president on the Arab-Israel issue and delivered
the most pathetic diplomacy I have ever seen.
This divide reflects the paralyzing split in his administration between
those who understand that America will never win the war of ideas in the
Middle East without working seriously on the most emotional issue in Arab
political life - the Palestine question - and those, like the vice president
and secretary of defense, who think the whole issue is overrated. The first
group are right, the second are wrong. The president needs to choose.
If only President Bush called in Colin Powell and said: "Colin, neither
of us have much to show by way of diplomacy for the last four years. I
want you to get on an airplane and go out to the Middle East. I want you
to sit down with Israelis and Palestinians and forge a framework for a
secure Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and progress toward a secure peace
in the West Bank, and I don't want you to come back home until you've got
that. Only this time I will stand with you.
"As long as you're out there, I will not let Rummy or Cheney fire any
more arrows into your back. So get going. It's time for you to stop sulking
over at Foggy Bottom and time for me to make a psychological breakthrough
with the Arab world that can also help us succeed in Iraq - by making it
easier for Arabs and Muslims to stand with us. I don't want to see you
back here until you've put our words into deeds."
Yasir Arafat preferred to die, beloved by all his people, in a Paris
military hospital - rather than sacrifice his popularity and maybe his
life so that the majority of his people could live and die at home. Will
Ariel Sharon, George Bush and the Arab and Palestinian leaders now follow
his model and play to the crowds, or play to history?
Russia version
An introduction to MAOF
Haim Goldman
Haim Goldman
Dear Friends,
Would you believe that the undersigned has anything in common with
-- Professor Victor Davis Hanson (Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University),
-- Dr Charles Krauthammer, (Washington Post, Time, The Weekly Standard),
-- Caroline Glick (Deputy Managing Editor of the Jerusalem Post),
-- Jonathan Tobin (Executive Editor of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent).
Amazingly, the editors of the MAOF website decided that the missives of the undersigned are worthy of translation and posting along the articles written by these distinguished authors.
The first letter was published without the consent of the undersigned.
However, after thorough examination of the laudable attitude of MAOF and of the excellent contents of the website, the undersigned had most graciously granted his permission for publication of his missives in both English and Russian.
“Analytical Group MAOF” [1] is an organisation founded about ten years ago by Russian-speaking Jewish intellectuals. The attitude of MAOF is definitely pro-Zionist -- unambiguously and unapologetically.
One of MAOF’s primary purposes is providing information and analysis about Middle-Eastern and world affairs as well as about Israel’s history, values and dilemmas. In addition to extensive publication activity in various media, MAOF also organises excursions and seminars. While the vast majority of the contents of the MAOF website is in Russian, texts originally written in English are provided in the original [2] as well as in Russian.
There are arguably about 250 millions of Russian-speakers worldwide and many of them do not read English. The indisputable motivation for the author’s permission was to grant those millions of disadvantaged people the grand benefit of reading the author’s ruminations. If the author is ever maliciously accused that his tacit motivation for authorising the publication was his craving to be listed along with the above-mentioned distinguished writers, his plea will definitely be “nolo contendere”.
The editors of MAOF expressed their gratitude by granting the undersigned a privilege that no other author got – the opportunity to review and correct the Russian translation before publication. The original letters of the undersigned are at [3] and their Russian version is at [4]. At of today, only two letters are posted but several other letters are pending translation.
You are kindly ENCOURAGED TO RECOMMEND the MAOF website to your friends and colleagues worldwide, particularly those who speak Russian. Those who do not enjoy the benefit of proficiency in the exquisite Russian language can find many thought-provoking and inspiring articles about Middle-Eastern and world affairs in the English section [2].
Sincerely,
Haim Goldman
28.10.2006
REFERENCES:
[1] http://maof.rjews.net
[2] section.php3? sid=37&num=25
[3] authorg.php3? id=2107&type=a
[4] authorg.php3? id=2166&type=a