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Creating Blog Posts

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Blogs

72

Justin Podur's Blog

Web Address: http://www.zcommunications.org/zspace/justinpodur
Bio: Justin Podur is a writer and editor for ZNet (www.zmag.org), part of Z Communications, an alternative media organization dedicated to political analysis and support for movements for social change.... (More)

All Podur Blogs

Arafat

By Justin Podur at Nov 11, 2004


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Palestine's leader, Yasser Arafat, has died. I expect that in the coming days there will be a lot of stupid things written about him on all sides. I have already read some of it. As when he was living, the point will not be to shower contempt on him and his legacy. It will be to shower contempt on the Palestinian people. My own feelings about Arafat have fluctuated in tandem with those of the Palestinians around me. Sometimes angry at the collaboration with Israel since the Oslo years, sometimes angry at the corruption, but recognizing that the Israelis and the Americans had set Arafat, like the Palestinians themselves, in an impossible situation. Colonizers and occupiers always do their best to make resistance carry a terrible cost. The most sophisticated colonizers force the colonized into collaboration not by offering personal benefits, but by threatening worse horrors for those who resist. The leader of a people wanting to be free then gets to watch his people get liquidated, murdered, displaced, and know that if he had not collaborated the destruction and death would be even greater. That's the context, anyway, and I just hope that people try and understand that. Another important part of the context, for people wondering what is going to happen next, is that Israel has been systematically and mercilessly killing Palestine's leaders for decades. If either Israel or the United States believes that Arafat's death is going to cause Palestinians to acquiesce in their own destruction or ethnic cleansing, they are only displaying their own ignorance. He will be buried in the Muqata, the compound in Ramallah that the Israelis repeatedly ruined by shelling and bulldozing, a compound the Israelis have repeatedly sought the world's, and especially the US's, permission to blow up, with its inhabitants, including Arafat. I spent a few hours in the rubble back in 2002. They were rebuilding the place, in the constant cycle: Israelis destroy it, Palestinians rebuild it. Israel will probably defile it even after he's buried there. That will not harm his own dignity nor the dignity of the Palestinians. November 11 is a day set aside in Canada to remember those warriors who fought in the European civil wars, WWI and WWII. The veterans who are honoured at the usual celebrations are very old now. It's generally celebrated in a low-key way, not as an over-the-top celebration of militarism that is accompanying the massacre in Fallujah right now. But I've found myself wishing that the noncombatant victims, who far outnumbered the dead soldiers in 20th century wars, could be remembered too. And those who fought against war itself and resisted it. And other warriors, especially those who fought against domination and colonialism over the centuries, from the indigenous in the Americas to the Asians and Africans. Yasser Arafat was one such warrior.
Person

Re: Arafat

By Shannon, James at Nov 15, 2004 21:57 PM

Isreal is a country led by 5000 years of irrational Dogma and oppression. The same irrational Dogma that brought the world Jesus and Mohamed. When you ruin a man's mind by false teachings you corrupt all his acts during his life. The world is incapable of just action because the minds of man have been corrupted by the worship of false and irrational gods. Only the search for a Rational GOD will bring rational actions hear on earth. Until then we will continue on, irrationally indoctrinated to follow false teachings, Evangalize our ignorance and not well or right.

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Person

Re: Arafat

By Chaszimmerman, Czimmerman at Nov 14, 2004 12:26 PM

<< I wish peace for both sides but vilifying Arafat out of content of the underlying causes, misses the point and the possible solutions for this conflict. >> I disagree. There is nothing wrong with unqualified condemnation in this case. There are underlying causes of Israel's actions too, but we don't have to mention these in criticizing their tactics either. In my opinion, no cause justifies blowing up planes or stealing millions. Many critics of Israel have complained that they have to begin all their critiques with a condemnation of Arab terrorism, and they are correct to make these complaints. Its the same here.

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Re: Arafat

By Vekey, Tvekey at Nov 12, 2004 17:32 PM

To previous comment: "Murder is Murder. Never right." One can not agree more to it. Israel inflicts 8-10 times the casualties (that includes civilians) on palestinians versus the suicide bombers. I wish peace for both sides but vilifying Arafat out of content of the underlying causes, misses the point and the possible solutions for this conflict.

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Re: Arafat

By Chaszimmerman, Czimmerman at Nov 12, 2004 01:33 AM

I've seen more than one article or comment on this site suggesting that in criticizing Arafat, people are also disregarding the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. I coulnd't disagree more. Its possible to recognize that Arafat was a thief and a murderer (not just a collaborator, which is as far as the criticism on this site seem to go), while still desiring and working for justice for Palestinians.

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Re: Arafat

By Shannon, James at Nov 11, 2004 23:49 PM

Murder is Murder. Never right. Only the law of an irrational mind makes it just.

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Person

By Cranch, James at Nov 11, 2004 20:11 PM

Excuse me, Joe, but isn't murdering people what warriors do? Of course it is true that if they was a lot of justice in the world, he'd have been imprisoned for murder. On the other hand, I can't think of many Israeli political leaders of the last 37 years who shouldn't similarly have been imprisoned. By comparison with many of them, he's acted relatively honourably.

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