The paper discusses Arafat's political legacy and the difficulty involved in trying to reconcile the dual roles he played as national hero and international terrorist.
Abstract The author argues that Arafat's political legacy is extremely controversial and practically irresolvable. On the one hand, he was an international terrorist and a dictator. On the other hand, he was a national hero and the father of the Palestinian people. That legacy, containing so many contradictions, as the author argues, is a reflection of Arafat's own incapacity to define his political aims and strategies; he often vacillated from one extreme to the other.
From the Paper "Upon his death on the 11th November, 2004, Yasser Arafat became the subject of yet another controversy. That controversy was, specifically stated, over the nature of his political legacy. Some, as reported by CNN, celebrated his death, interpreting the event as the passing away of a "ruthless terrorist and roadblock to peace" ("Palestinian Leader"). This group interprets Yasser Arafat's political legacy as one of violence, bloodshed and corruption. However, if that group numbers in the millions even, there is another equally large group which mourned Arafat's death, perceiving of it as the passing away of a great political leader and symbol of Palestinian nationhood. This group interprets Yasser Arafat's legacy as being that of a freedom fighter and patriot. However, the fact is that the issue is much more complicated than this black and white picture and a critical analysis of Yasser Arafat's political journey illustrates that he left a mixed political legacy. As this paper shall try to argue, while Yasser Arafat had been involved in terrorist activities in his early life and had become the dictator and not the liberator of the Palestinian people in the last period of his life, he was not the obstacle to peace that Israelis and the United States have insisted he was and, after his death, his legacy will of national leader who, as a freedom fighter, restored the concept of the Palestinian people, made the dream of the Palestinian state an international goal, and achieved the independence of the Palestinian decision making from the control of Arab countries."
Abstract This paper discusses the book "Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography," written in 2003 by Barry M. Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin. The paper discusses the style and tone of the book and describes the book's analysis of Arafat's personal and political flaws, as well as his perseverance, intelligence, creativity flexibility and effective diplomatic ways. The paper concludes that it is a well-written, balanced and extremely interesting book.
From the Paper "A key aspect of Arafat's long diplomatic success, especially in the latter decades of his career, the authors suggest, was the late Palestinian leader's successful cultivation of a particularly sympathetic public image. Perhaps ironically for one who publicly resisted any trappings of success or appearance of modern-day sophistication in favor of a humble if militant stubble-bearded look, Arafat used the mass media with enormous skill. He portrayed himself as a simple, no-frills man of the people, with his simple dress (usually a military uniform, as if he had come straight from battle), stubbly beard, and head-scarf carefully arranged to resemble a map of Palestine. Moreover, Yasir Arafat's disarming personal warmth, toward journalists and others, successfully masked his ruthlessness and perpetual propensity toward violence."
Abstract This paper examines the founding, history, documents, beliefs, and actions of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. It describes the PLO's relations to the former Soviet Union, as opposed to Israel's relations to the USA. It uses these two comparisons to describe the PLO's involvement in the Cold War, while also describing its obstacles and goals in the middle east. The paper carries the reader through many of the PLO's failures and successes, all the way until the 1990's near peace agreement with the Israelis. The paper details Arafat's many ideals, those carried out in military actions and those carried out amongst his Arab brethren.
Abstract This paper examines the historical background of the conflict in the Middle East between Palestine and Israel, and notes that while this conflict is promoted in the media as being a relatively "new" phenomenon that it is actually another stage in an ongoing conflict between these two peoples. Factors that are addressed as contributing to this conflict are those of religion and politics. There is a strong slant towards the Palestinians being unjustly vilified in the media. There is a brief mention of Osama bin Laden and his involvement in the conflict.
From the Paper "The recent hostilities between the Palestinian and the Israeli people is a negative note in what had seemed to be progress in ending the ongoing conflict between these separate people. Prior to the events of violence that were started once more in the spring of last year, the Palestinian and the Israeli people were apparently working towards a position of peace in the Middle East. However, this was not to be. The existing social tensions between the Palestinian and the Israeli people was too deeply rooted within their histories and cultures to provide a simple solution, which the negotiations that were prevalent at the time were attempting to achieve. "
Tags: accord, arab, arafat, bin, jerusalem, jew, laden, muslim, nations, osama, oslo, united
Abstract This research paper evaluates the evolution of the PLO and how it has cultivated political change in the Middle East. Subtitles includes: the how and why of the PLO, the PLO, a displaced Palestinian State, PLO leadership and changing ideologies.
From the Paper "In the historical arena of time, the roots of the Palestine Liberation Organization are shallow. Time has witnessed the birth of Israel bringing political changes that affect the plight of the Palestinians. The evolution of the PLO in the Middle East has also cultivated political change. Many of these changes are currently being addressed in the international community. The Middle East, since World War II, has been a political hot bed of transformation implanted in the cultural and religious ideologies of Jews against Arabs drawn into the political field of Palestinians against Israelis."
Abstract This paper discusses the impact of American policy support for Israel on the Arab-Israeli conflict. It acknowledges America's identity as a super-power, and as such, its ability to be a determining factor in the success of a foreign national agenda. The discussion explores the issue of American support for the Israeli cause.
From the Paper "As World War II drew to a close, and the planet was forced into a recalibration of unprecedented proportions, the United States began its long emergence as the most expansive super-power that had yet been known. Its influence, that would compete virulently with the post-war Soviet influence for half a century, has since disseminated into every facet of the geopolitical theatre. As such, American support can operate as the determining factor in the success of a national agenda."
Abstract This paper examines Israel and its making by taking a close look at the historical events leading up to the nation's independence and then examines those same historical events thereby explaining the reasons Palestinians were "left behind".
From the Paper "In its most immediate manifestation, there may be a great deal of support for the idea that the Jewish state of Israel, established in 1948, was sparked by a newfound international sympathy for the Jewish situation. The Holocaust, that resulted in the slaughter of some six million Jews, and the torture and degradation of countless others, appeared to be the culmination to millennia of Semitic discrimination, deportation and murder. And as concentration camp liberation throughout Eastern Europe exposed the abhorrent realities executed upon the Jews to the rest of the world, President Truman and imperially inclined British authorities alike were corralled into a position of necessary empathy. But it was certainly not by way of global ingratiation alone that the Jews were able to gain a foothold on their fate as a proposed nation. The seeds for 1948's declaration of Israeli independence were planted and fertilized many years prior and, likewise, a tendency toward Palestinian disenfranchisement finds it roots in an approach adopted in the early part of the twentieth century."
Abstract This paper attempts to find a solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. It covers these areas:
The Issue
Background to the Tensions and the Present State of the Conflict:
Justification for Continued Israeli Occupation
Past US Role in the Israeli Palestine Conflict
Possible Reasons for the American Administration's Current Inaction
Saudi Peace Plan
Recent UN Resolution
A Proposal to Resolve the Problem
From the Paper "As violence escalates in Palestine, the intractable problem becomes even more intractable. Intense fighting between Israelis and Palestinians, the most intense inside the borders of the former Palestine since Israel's creation in 1948, are claiming a daily toll in double digits. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's increasingly tough tactics are exacerbating the conflict. A war of attrition is going on that has the potential to escalate into an all out regional war."
Tags: sharon, arafat, america, arab, intifada, oslo, accord, terrorism, middle, east, peacemaking, un
Abstract A paper which discusses the Middle East conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and the urgent need for intervention by a third party due to the mistrust between the leaders of both sides. The paper shows that the true victims of this conflict are the innocent populations who are harmed because Arafat and Sharon cannot reach an agreement.
From the Paper "BBC reporter Kathryn Westcott reports a chilling trend among young teens who emulate their elders and perform suicide bombings. The military action in the West Bank has had the effect that 600,000 children have been unable to attend school. Television propaganda enrages the children and they are now beginning to take part in the violence. We must remember that children learn more by our actions than our words and we can only blame ourselves when a 14-year-old runs into a crowded mall of other school children and pulls the pin on the grenade. Some so-called "Freedom Fighters" are even recruiting children to do their dirty work."
Tags: Freedom, Fighters, Elias, Tuma, West, Bank, terrorism
Abstract This paper discusses the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the role that the U.S. plays in influencing this conflict. It searches for the roots of the conflict between these two groups. It also explores the steps that have been taken to resolve the conflict, focusing on the part of the U.S. in the trying to resolve the conflict.
From the Paper "The history that fuels this conflict is vast but it is vitally important that the history of the region is understood before we can understand what is happening in the region currently. The conflict between the two groups began at the turn of the century when Zionists immigrants began to enter Jerusalem in an attempt to establish a homeland. Zionists believe that God made promises to Abraham that the Jews, who are Abraham's descendants through Isaac, were to have Canaan (The land now known as Israel). Arabs, who are Abraham's descendants through his other son, Ishmael, were not to inherent the land.1 Palestinians were already living in the land when European Jews arrived after they arrived Palestinians and non-Jews comprised 90% of the population."
Examines life, accomplishments, rise to power of President of Palestine Liberation Organization. His personal strengths and weaknesses; historical circumstances; ongoing struggles in Middle East and Mid-East politics.
4,500 words (approx. 18 pages), 10 sources, 2001, $ 135.95
From the Paper "About some people there seems to be no middle ground of opinion: They are considered to be either demons or heroes. It should not be surprising that there is such polarization one way or the other, because indeed some people are so much better or worse than the average person, and as objects for study they are less than fascinating. The presence of excessive amounts of good or evil in a person is not on the face of it that interesting. Far more interesting are those figures from history that polarize opinion both ways, about whom it is alleged that they are both demons and angels, put here on earth to save us all, or destroy us all. Yasser Arafat - president of the Palestinian Authority from 1996 to the present, chair of the Palestine Liberation Organization from 1969 to the present, and a Nobel laureate who has led the Palestinian people..."
From the Paper "Alan Hart, in Arafat: Terrorist or Peacemaker?, presents a well-balanced portrait of the Arab leader Yasser Arafat, demonstrating convincingly that he was indeed once a terrorist, using methods of terror to advance what he believed was a just cause, but who then became a true peacemaker. The author does not pretend to argue his case with an eye for objectivity, but instead is dedicated to urging the Americans to use their clout with Israel to persuade that nation to deal with Arafat and to understand the beliefs behind his tactics of the past. In any case, Hart is convinced (and gives the reader a powerful argument to share that convincement) that Arafat must be respected as a major player in any peace which emerges in the Middle East. His book is particularly relevant today as the peace process inches forward between the Palestinians and Israel, and as Arafat..."
Abstract This paper elaborates on the history of the tension between Israel and Palestine, while focusing more on the history than the actual specifics and details of the conflict.
From the Paper "As former President Bill Clinton was preparing to leave office in 2000, he received a phone call from Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yassar Arafat. As Arafat wished Clinton farewell he told the President ?You are a great man.? "The hell I am," Clinton said he responded. "I'm a colossal failure, and you made me one. " Clinton summed up the view many have held toward the talks of peace between Israel and Palestine since World War II failures. "
Abstract Examines violence and tensions of the area in 2001. Israel-Palestinian conflict. Background. The new intifada. Replacement of conflict resolution with crisis management as approach. Distrust on both sides of the conflict. Underlying problems. Uprisings and resistance. Mounting terrorism. Arafat's approach. Peres' approach. Role of the U.S. government. Sense of hopelessness.
From the Paper "THE MIDDLE EAST IN CRISIS:
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
At no time since Israel was proclaimed a sovereign and independent state more than half-a-century ago has the future of the Middle East looked so bleak and deadly. Since new violence erupted last October between Israel on the one hand and the Palestinians on the other, a new intifada has evolved on a sustained basis. Thus, crisis management has replaced conflict resolution as the prevailing approach for dealing with trouble in this chronic hot spot (Simon, 2001, p. 31).
An underlying problem is the Palestinian unwillingness or inability to "abandon … its founding claim … that Palestinians displaced by Israel in 1948 be allowed to return home" (Zakaria 2001 2). Of course, Israel similarly has steadfastly refused to recognize the right ..."
Abstract The Arab-Israeli War of 1967 would be known as the Six-Day War because of its brevity. The paper describes how the fighting began June 5, 1967, but the tensions behind this particular episode had a long history and would continue long after this one major conflict. The paper covers several causes the war, some of long standing and some of more recent origin. The paper shows how Israel emerged from the war with new territory, notably portions of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, Syria's Golan Heights and the West Bank of Jordan. It examines how the territorial issue from this war remains unsettled today, though arguably the war produced a changed situation in the Middle East that has made compromise and settlement that much more difficult.
From the Paper "Israel thus began in conflict with her neighbors, and direct confrontation between Israel and the Arab world occurred in 1956, 1967, and 1973 (Neff 27). After the Sinai Campaign of 1956, Israel's border with Egypt was comparatively peaceful, but a center of Arab activity against Israel developed along the Syrian and then the Jordanian borders (Herzog 145-146). It was during this period that different Arab groups formed for the purpose of countering Israeli actions and to push for the destruction of the state of Israel. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed in 1965 (Herzog 146-147).At the time, the emerging organization was under the control of Egypt, and Egyptian President Gamel Abdel Nasser kept the organization away from guerrilla actions against Israel because he, more than any other Arab leader, had reason to respect Israel's power after his experience in 1956. In addition, a secret study commissioned during the 1964 Arab summit showed that it would take the Arabs at least until 1969 to reach a level of military strength equal to that of Israel. The Palestinians were not happy at having to wait for so long to get their land back, and a small group formed under the leadership of Yasser Arafat under the name Fatah. The strategy of this group differed from that of Nasser. Fatah intended to avoid all intra-Arab conflicts and allegiances and devote itself only to the aim of conducting attacks on Israel: "Arafat and his cohorts believed that from these attacks would emerge Arab unity and from Arab unity would come the strength to defeat the Jewish state" (Neff 33). Fatah dedicated itself to provoking a war between Israel and the Arab states."
