Last week's death of Yasser Arafat, terrorist and president of the Palestinian Authority, created renewed reflection and discussion throughout the world on Arafat, his past and what his death means for the future of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
About 60 people gathered in the Butler Board Room to listen to a panel of five experts reflect on such topics yesterday at a discussion titled "Remembering Arafat: Reflections on the Past, Visions for the Future."
Abdul Aziz Said, professor in the School of International Service, opened the event. He described Arafat as the Palestinian leader.
"Arafat was the face of Palestine, he was the voice for the voiceless Palestinians, and he was the identity of the Palestinians," he said.
Most of the panel met Arafat at some point in the four decades in which he played a role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Said opened the discussion by saying that in 1982, he and other scholars committed to peace met Arafat to convince him that armed resistance against Israel would not work.
Arafat responded by saying he had already realized that only through dialogue would the struggle end.
Mohammed Abu-Nimer, an SIS professor, spoke next. He said that Israelis, Americans and Palestinians have manipulated and distorted Arafat's image to their liking.
"The idea that Arafat equals the Palestinian movement has prevented the creation of a Palestinian state," Abu-Nimer added. In the five minutes he was allowed to speak, he stated 10 false ideas and excessive demands that have been created due to this idea. The most prominent idea, he said, is that if you get rid of Arafat, you get rid of the problem.
Another false idea is Arafat's ability to fight terrorists, Abu-Nimer said. "The demands by Israel that Arafat stop the terrorist movement is excessive," he said. "How can he? He has no army to go house to house to arrest the terrorists."
Abu-Nimer said that another falsity was that Arafat was the reason for the collapse of the Camp David peace talks in 2000.
"[Israel] demanded the end to the quest for Palestinian sovereignty over east Jerusalem, that a Palestinian state be divided into three cantons, and would not recognize Palestinian refugees' right to the land."
The next panel member to speak was Mubarak Awad from Nonviolence International. Awad, who first met Arafat in 1973, said he planned to run for PA president in its January elections. The Palestinian Authority's constitution requires elections no more than 60 days after the death of an acting president.
Awad said that it would take 40 to 50 years after any lasting agreement for true peace to occur.
"We Palestinians are a proud people," Awad said, "the Palestinian struggle deals with power, God, and history, and will not be easily solved."
The major problem, Awad said, was that the Palestinians and Israelis don't understand each other. "Both sides feel they have been wronged, the Palestinians and Israelis must clear their hearts before peace can be made," Awad said.
He also said the world put too much pressure on him to make peace with Israel. "Arafat must say no to everyone until Palestinians say yes," Awad said, "Otherwise he would be killed and labeled a traitor.
Awad said he last met with Arafat for 45 minutes two months ago. During that time Awad said Arafat told him how he liked former Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated by a Jewish extremist in 1995. Awad said Arafat told him, "I could have made peace with Rabin."
Mary Ann Fay, a professor in the College of Arts and Scientists, was the next panelist to speak. During her time she reminisced on her first time meeting Arafat as a journalist in Beirut in 1981.
During that time Arafat never slept in the same place twice because he didn't want to be assassinated," Fay told the audience.
"One thing I remember [Arafat] saying was that he did not want the Palestinians to become the American Indians of the Middle East," Fay said. "He believed the Palestinians had a right to three things: self determination, life without fear, and self-determination."
The fourth panelist was Yehuda Lukacs of the Center for Global Education and professor at George Mason. He criticized the Bush administration's approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Bush has never made it a priority," Lukacs said. "He needs to pursue measures like Clinton and his father. Both men worked with Arafat and promoted peace agreements."
Lukacs also said Bush was the first president that did not require the entire West Bank and Gaza Strip to make up an eventual Palestinian state.
The entire way both sides are going about the peace process needs to be changed, according to Lukacs.
"Rather than only working at the diplomatic level for peace, ordinary individuals need to be given a stake in the peace process," Lukacs said. "There needs to be more interaction between the two groups."
The final member of the panel was Adam Shapiro, a third-year doctorate student in SIS. During his time he addressed Arafat from the perspective of Israel.
"After Oslo, Arafat became a sort of 'step-father' for the majority of Israelis," Shapiro said. "They saw him as their salvation to ending the violence toward peace."
Shapiro also broke bread with Arafat in his compound in Ramallah while it was under siege.
"The Israelis never see the Palestinian people, who work as day laborers and dishwashers in Israel, but there is no interaction between the two groups," he said. "Now that Arafat is gone, the Israeli people need to see that the only obstacle to peace is the occupation."
An audience member asked a question regarding Marwan Barghouthi, a Palestinian jailed for helping to murder five Israelis and starting the second intifada.
"If Barghouthi were to win the Presidential election, it would be as a form of protest to Israel and the U.S. The Palestinians will support anyone Bush and Israel reject," Awad said. "All the Israelis have to do is release Barghouthi and he will lose his support."
The event was sponsored by Nonviolence International and the SIS Program in International Peace and Conflict Resolution.
