ONLINE MAGAZINE FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
ALEXANDER KIMEL - EDITOR
June 2002
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ONLINE MAGAZINE FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ALEXANDER KIMEL - EDITOR June 2002 |
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Almighty God! Let the Ashes of the Children incinerated in Auschwitz, rivers of blood spilled in Babbi Yar or Majdanek, be a warning to mankind that violence is destructive, hatred is contagious, while man has an unlimited capacity for cruelty.
Can Arafat Make Peace?In the NY Times column (May 17) Mr. Kristof wrote:".It is fair to fault Mr. Arafat for lacking courage to strike a deal at Taba; for being maddening, vacillating and passive negotiator; for condoning violence that unseated the best peace partner the Palestinian could have had. But the common view in the west that Mr. Arafat flatly rejected a reasonable peace, and that it is thus pointless to attempt a strategy of negotiation, is a myth." Can Arafat make peace with Israel? The answer is NO. Arafat and his leadership style is the main obstacle to peace. My reasoning is as follows: 1.Peace in the Middle East requires an honest, truthful leadership that negotiates in good faith. From the beginning of the Oslo Agreement, Arafat never negotiated in good faith. He never put forward his own counter proposals; used violence to restart stalled negotiation, and kept his trump card - the right of return of the Palestinian refuges hidden, to be used to break up any close agreement. 2. Peace requires a visionary leader capable of creating an open society, with democratic institutions, responsible to the people. Rapid economic development requires an open responsible government. Arafat turned to be an autocrat, that created a corrupt system, staffed with his cronies, with overlaying multiple security organization, where millions of aid dollars disappeared without a trace. How can one make peace with corrupted, lawless quasi state? 3. Peace requires a risk-taking leader that understand the destructiveness
of violence and ready to take risk for peace. Arafat is a passive opportunist,
who survives the disasters of his own making. He survived the expulsion
from Jordan, the siege of Beirut, the Desert Storm. He survived by making
sure that there is no other alternative to his "leadership." 4. Peace requires a leader that bargains hard but lives up to his agreements, thus inspiring trust. The basic premise of the Oslo Agreement was the exchange of Land for Peace. Arafat took the land and returned violence, bloodshed and terror. Would you buy a used car from him? ConclusionsFdinally, peace requires a leader who is willing and capable to eliminate the senselss violence and proceed with building a viable society. To this date Arafat was able to generate hate and violence but not in building fo the future. It is possible that under the pressure from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the US, Arafat will sign a comprehensive peace agreement, that will create a miniature terrorist state operating under the auspices of the United Nations. Will it bring peace?Moses took Israel out of Egypt but did not bring them to the Promised Land. Each epoch requires a different leader. Arafat is a sick tired man, compulsively clinging to power, and chances are that he will not bring his people to the statehood and nationhood.
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