Writes Jeff Jacoby in the Boston Globe [Hat Tip: H. Hacker]:
YASSER ARAFAT died at age 75, lying in bed surrounded by familiar faces. He left this world peacefully, unlike the thousands of victims he sent to early graves.
In a better world, the PLO chief would have met his end on a gallows, hanged for mass murder much as the Nazi chiefs were hanged at Nuremberg. In a better world, the French president would not have paid a visit to the bedside of such a monster. In a better world, George Bush would not have said, on hearing the first reports that Arafat had died, “God bless his soul.”
God bless his soul? What a grotesque idea! Bless the soul of the man who brought modern terrorism to the world? Who sent his agents to slaughter athletes at the Olympics, blow airliners out of the sky, bomb schools and pizzerias, machine-gun passengers in airline terminals? Who lied, cheated, and stole without compunction? Who inculcated the vilest culture of Jew-hatred since the Third Reich? Human beings might stoop to bless a creature so evil — as indeed Arafat was blessed, with money, deference, even a Nobel Prize — but God, I am quite sure, will damn him for eternity.
Arafat always inspired flights of nonsense from Western journalists, and his last two weeks were no exception. [November 11, 2004]
For more on Arafat:
America’s Accommodation of Evil by Adam Mossoff
It is time the US sees Arafat for what he is.
Arafat’s Despotism: Innocent Palestinians are Better Under Israeli Rule by Yaron Brook
Remember the mayor of a Palestinian village, Zuhir Hamdan, who publicly stated that his villagers preferred to live, not under Arafat, but Israel?
We Are Either With Israel, Or We Are With the Terrorists by Robert W. Tracinski
Arafat and his Palestinian Authority were the world’s foremost example of terrorism as a successful war strategy.
Yassar Arafat’s Suicide Factory by Daniel Pipes
Convincing healthy individuals to blow themselves up is obviously not easy, but requires ideas and institutions. The process begins with the Palestinian Authority (PA) inculcating two things into its population, starting with the children: a hatred of Jews and a love of death.
Killing Arafat by Alexander Marriott
Yasser Arafat, the Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, has been a fomenter of terrorism virtually his entire “professional” career. Killing Arafat as opposed to exiling him, where he can still communicate with terrorists on the ground, is preferable.
Casus Belli by David Harsanyi
Worldwide, leaders have announced that their support for the proposed American-led ouster of Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein hinges on President Bush making a compelling case for action. “That guy’s evil” doesn’t cut it with many of these heads of state, most of whom regard terrorists like Yassir Arafat as freedom fighters. Hussein’s frenzied hostility towards America, uninhibited support of terrorism (illustrated by generous $25,00 gifts to Palestinian suicide bombers’ families), the murder of thousands of his own citizens and his insistent efforts of adding weapons of mass destruction doesn’t seem to be adequate evidence either.
Expel Arafat Now by James Phillips
For many years now, Arafat has paid lip service to peace negotiations in English, while calling in Arabic for a jihad, or holy war, to liberate Jerusalem.
How Arafat Killed The “Peace Process” by James Phillips
Arafat’s history of broken promises has convinced Israelis that Arafat is an untrustworthy negotiating partner who reverts to the “war process” when he doesn’t get what he demands in the “peace process.”
U.N. Call for Palestinian State Spells Suicide for Palestinians by Yaron Brook
Arafat’s “Palestinian self-determination” really means more of Arafat’s despotism–it means granting legitimacy to a state that is utterly hostile to its own citizens.
Israel’s Deal with the Devil by Emmanuel Forgolou
After the recent outbreak of violence, world opinion once again scrambles to implicate Israel, while Palestinians led by Yasser Arafat get bolder in their demands. Having abandoned its moral stand of strong defense and having made its deal with the devil, can Israel hope for either peace or security?
Jenin: The Big Lie by Ariel Cohen
Why Arafat invented the Jenin “massacre.”