The Mystery Of Arafat

When Yasser Arafat first appeared on the international stage following the 1967 Six-Day War, he was called a bloody terrorist. When the Israeli army drove him from Beirut in 1984, he was dismissed as a broken, marginalized figure. When the grass-roots Intifada broke out in the occupied territories in 1987, Arafat, from his outpost in Tunis, was able to portray himself as leader of the movement. And when secret talks started between the Israelis and Palestinians in Oslo, it was widely held that only Arafat could negotiate a lasting peace and independence for his people. From guerrilla fighter to statesman to his present role as chief administrator over a fragile, fledgling country, Arafat has always remained just beyond the grasp of those who would define his nature or predict his next move. Rubinstein approaches his subject as a detective might: going back to Arafat's birth and shadowy youth in Egypt, his life of ceaseless traveling, the meanings behind his trademark kaffiyeh and three-day beard, his vows of personal poverty, and his insistence on signing every check issued by the PLO. Through anecdote, analytic sifting, and thoughtful reflection, Rubinstein weaves a compelling portrait of Yasser Arafat, one that will be of interest to all who follow events in the Middle East.

How has it happened that this man who is mistrusted by other Arab leaders and disliked by many of his own Palestinian colleagues has managed to stay in place as leader of a national movement for nearly twenty years? The enigma that is Arafat is explored in this probing exploration by one of Israel's finest journalists about whose previous book on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Edward Said wrote a rare Israeli attempt at sympathetic understanding of the Palestinian tragedy.'

A noted historian analyzes Yasser Arafat’s role in destabilizing the Middle East in a book praised as “eye-opening and exhaustively researched” (New York Post). Offering the first comprehensive account of the collapse of the most promising peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, historian Efraim Karsh details Arafat’s efforts since the historic Oslo Accords in building an extensive terrorist infrastructure, his failure to disarm the extremist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and the Palestinian Authority’s systematic efforts to indoctrinate hate and contempt for the Israeli people through rumor and religious zealotry. Arafat has irrevocably altered the Middle East’s political landscape, and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict will always be Arafat’s war.

A biography of the Palestinian leader

The biggest obstacle to Palestinian statehood may not be Israel In September 2011, president Mahmoud Abbas stood before the United Nations General Assembly and dramatically announced his intention to achieve recognition of Palestinian statehood. The United States roundly opposed the move then, but two years later, Washington revived dreams for Palestinian statehood through bilateral diplomacy with Israel. But are the Palestinians prepared for the next step? In State of Failure, Middle East expert Jonathan Schanzer argues that the reasons behind Palestine's inertia are far more complex than we realize. Despite broad international support, Palestinian independence is stalling because of internal mismanagement, not necessarily because of Israeli intransigence. Drawing on exclusive sources, the author shows how the PLO under Yasser Arafat was ill prepared for the task of statebuilding. Arafat's successor, Mahmoud Abbas, used President George W. Bush's support to catapult himself into the presidency. But the aging leader, now four years past the end of his elected term, has not only failed to implement much needed reforms but huge sums of international aid continue to be squandered, and the Palestinian people stand to lose everything as a result. Supporters of Palestine and Israel alike will find Schanzer's narrative compelling at this critical juncture in Middle Eastern politics.

Focuses on the social, political, economic, and psychological roots of terrorism. This work offers an examination that explores the dynamics of contemporary terrorism as well as the possibilities and limitations of peace processes undertaken by governments that try to end terrorist violence, tracing the rise and growth of various terrorist groups.

Written by top scholars in an accessible manner, this unique encyclopedia offers worldwide coverage of the origins, forms, practitioners, and effects of antisemitism, leading to the Holocaust and surviving to the present day. The word "antisemite" was first used to describe a politically motivated enemy of the Jews in 1879. The subject of antisemitism has often been focused on the Holocaust; however, current events and history have much to add to this discussion. For example, in 1995 a Japanese pseudo-Buddhist religious cult, imagining itself to be under attack by Jews, released sarin gas on the Tokyo subway, killing 12. From 1881 to 1900 there were 128 public accusations of Jewish "ritual murder" allegedly involving the killing of Christian children to use their blood for religious purposes. Entries in this encyclopedia span the period from ancient Egypt to the modern era. Key theoreticians of Jew-hatred and their written works, its permeation of Christianity and modern Islam, and its political, artistic, and economic manifestations are covered. This is the first comprehensive work that deals with the entire history of ideas and practices that engendered the Holocaust.