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Barry Shaw made Aliyah from England in the 1970s, is manager of Netanya Real Estate, and founder of the Netanya Terror Victims Fund. He is the author of "The View from Here" series of commentaries from Israel.
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By Barry Shaw
November 5, 2004
It is an awful statement on a man's life that the first emotion expressed in his death will be hope.
What does this say about that person?
Arafat will be portrayed by much of the media as the champion of the Palestinian cause. But, how did he execute that responsibility?
As Abba Eban once elegantly put it "the Palestinians never miss the opportunity to miss an opportunity!" That fault directly leads to the failed leadership of Arafat.
It is true that he led them through the wilderness of Jordan and Lebanon, wreaking havoc and violence in his wake, to Tunis.
His arrival in the West Bank and Gaza had more to do with the decision of a pragmatic, Rabin-led, Israeli Government at Oslo than the surrender of principles by Arafat.
In fact, he lied and cheated his way back to the territories, reneging on all his Oslo Accords commitments and promises.
Instead of nation-building, he fermented his ambitions to rule over Greater Palestine 'from the River to the Sea.' His dream was never likely to be realized. Instead, it became a nightmare for both Israelis and Palestinians.
The father of modern terrorism was incapable of adopting a more positive leadership for the benefit of his people.
Instead, he instigated a reign of terror, created the ugly phenomenon of the suicide bomber that has plagued the world, incited his people to racial hatred and martyrdom, sentenced over a thousand innocent Israelis to death, deceived European diplomats to adopt and promote his cause and pump obscene amounts of funds which he used for his own purposes.
The result of his corrupt, wasteful, and violent dictatorship was that he deprived his own people of hope.
There could have been a hopeful future for the Palestinians if Arafat had pursued the aims of Oslo with Shimon Peres, following Rabins assassination.
Instead, Israel was hit with a spate of bus bombings and terror attacks.
There could have been a hopeful future for the Palestinians had Arafat accepted the generous concessions offered by Barak at Camp David, and later at Taba.
Instead, Arafat pursued his Islamic crusade to destroy Israel under his Al Aksa Intifada.
Instead of a better life, he promised his people a glorious death.
Inflicting years of unnecessary suffering on his people was the outcome of his style of internal leadership - divide and rule.
He created and armed fractious gangs that, with his patronage and largesse (born out of huge donations and funding from bodies such as the European Union), rivaled each other in their violence against the Zionist enemy.
None were allowed to become too large or too dangerous to challenge, or usurp, his control.
Thus, he maintained a balance of chaos and anarchy that may yet become his legacy to his people.
It is hoped that a replacement leadership can introduce pragmatism and reform, drop the hateful and racial incitement, eradicate the terrorism, that will truly bring hope to their people.
It is certain that an Israeli public will force its Government to respond and turn this hope into reality.
After all, the Israeli national anthem is 'HaTikvah': HOPE.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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