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AAI in the News

Arafat's Failing Health Might Not Change Dynamics of the Mideast

By Steve Lieberman
The Journal News
Posted on Friday November 5, 2004

Yasser Arafat’s severe illness yesterday drew competing historical portraits of the Palestinian leader and raised questions about who would succeed him.

Arafat, 75, who reportedly remained comatose in France, is seen by pro-Israel advocates as a politically crafty, unrepentant terrorist who spoke of peace but plotted to destroy the Jewish state since taking over the Palestinian leadership in the mid-1960s.

Supporters view him as a relentless advocate and spiritual leader for Palestinian statehood, long denied by Israel with support from the United States.

Those on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian issue agreed that when Arafat dies, there will be an authority void.

“There will be a vacuum of power, but Arafat has been reduced in consequence during the past few years,” said Dr. Mandell Ganchrow, founder of the Hudson Valley Political Action Committee, which advocates for strong U.S.-Israeli relations.

“The question comes down to who is going to crack down on terrorists groups like Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah,” said Ganchrow, of Monsey.

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington, D.C., said nothing would change until Israel and the United States become serious about allowing a Palestinian state. Zogby said Arafat’s legacy would be viewed differently in the Arab and European world.

“He is viewed as the father of the Palestinians,” Zogby said. “He brought together a people scattered among other nations and put together a national movement.”