Arafat's Passing: Death Brings Hope of New Life

Unlike some others, I have been loathe to celebrate the death of Yasir Arafat. While it is pretty much unarguable that this is a man who has steeped his own life in death, it seems to me that it is best to respect the dead and those who mourn for them. But more and more, those who have been watching the middle east for the last 30 years are hopeful for the first time since Oslo, at the prospect of a more honest broker of Palestinian dreams.

It is a sad but fitting coda to Yasir Arafat's career that the prospect of his death seemed to unlock more hope and possibilities than the reality of his life. His corrupt, self-interested rule had created a situation whereby Palestinian aspirations seemed to have gotten locked away with him, under house arrest in Ramallah, well beyond the reach of creative diplomacy. Only human biology could liberate them again - and so it has.

I am still skeptical that anyone, short of a Christ or an Antichrist, will be capable of "solving" Middle East peace. The problem is much deeper than cultural or historical. It is spiritual in nature. No amount of negotiation is enough, which is why George W Bush is more likely to simply support the Israelis then try to get both sides to ther table. Still, even a lull saves lives, and who knows that may be possible in the end?