Editorial: Disgusting deification

Friday, Nov. 12, 2004 | 8:52 a.m.

Some European and Arab leaders have been nothing short of effusive in their praise of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader who died this week. "With him disappears the man of courage and conviction who, for 40 years, has embodied the Palestinians' combat for recognition of their national rights," French President Jacques Chirac said. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Arafat "defended rights, struggled against occupation and pursued peace."

Not all leaders have been as unconscionably fawning as Chirac and Mubarak, but noticeably absent was a worldwide acknowledgement that Arafat, a terrorist who supported suicide bombings against Israelis, was the chief roadblock to reaching a genuine peace agreement in the Middle East. Arafat's embrace of such horrifying tactics as suicide bombings -- now part and parcel of terrorist movements, including al-Qaida -- is his true legacy.

If the new Palestinian leadership wants to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the United States, which almost certainly will play a pivotal role in any renewed peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, it is going to have to clamp down on terrorism and get rid of the corruption that has tainted the Palestinian Authority. We can only hope that Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian leader, has the courage to reject terror and seek peace -- something that Arafat never really wanted.