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Arafat is my hero because he helped recreate the Palestinian people's identity. The Palestinians experienced several attempts of melting their identity by the Turks, the British, the Jordanians, the Egyptians and finally by the Israelis. Arafat helped establish the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which lead the fight for regaining freedom for the Palestinians. Arafat used every possible way to secure freedom for his people including unpopular means such as guerrilla war, terrorist activities and peaceful negotiations. In 1993 Arafat was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres.
Page created on 11/8/2004 12:50:29 PM
Last edited 11/8/2004 12:50:29 PM
THIS HERO STORY IS CONTROVERSIAL AS YASIR ARAFAT WHILE ONCE HONORED WITH THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE DID NOT CREATE A LASTING AND SECURE PEACE FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE MIDDLE EAST.THIS IS A CHALLENGE THAT FACES LEADERS TODAY. ACTS OF TERRORISM AND VIOLENCE ARE NOT THE TOOLS OF CHANGE THAT HAVE SUCCEEDED TO BRING ABOUT PEACE. THEY HAVE ONLY FUELED THE VOLATILE SITUATION THAT EXISTS. ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS MUST FIND A WAY TO CO-EXIST. JEWS, CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF FIGHTING AND OF FRIENDSHIP. IF THE LESSONS OF EACH OF THESE GREAT RELIGIONS TEACH US ANYTHING --IT IS TO LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF--WE MUST WORK FOR PEACE AND TOLERANCE.
