In the wake of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's death Wednesday night, Muslim and Jewish students at Tufts have expressed a range of emotions regarding Arafat's life and works and the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations.
Arab students generally agreed that Arafat's death marked the end of an era for Palestine, and held mixed feelings regarding Arafat's success as the Palestinian leader.
"I believe [Arafat's] death is a huge loss for [the Palestinians], because even though he was far from perfect, he was a symbol of the struggle that every Palestinian must endure," senior Karim Bin-Humam said.
Bin-Humam added, however, that despite his symbolic value, Arafat was not an ideal leader. "I don't believe his presence helped the current situation in the territories and I don't believe that he was a good leader for the Palestinian people," he said.
Other students said Arafat's death paralleled the region's diplomacy problems. "The passing of Yasser Arafat has coincided with the slow death of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process," senior Zaid Al-Hinai said.
For Al-Hinai, Arafat was a man who fought for his convictions, despite some personal flaws. "Yes, [Arafat] made grave mistakes along the way. Yes, you can argue that he was a dictator .... Nonetheless, he was a freedom fighter who believed in peace and I respect him for that," Al-Hinai said.
Junior Riyadh Mohammed said Arafat was a highly misunderstood leader. "Despite what most of the Western world believes, Mr. Arafat was a great man and leader, not a terrorist. He displayed hope for a greater peace in the region and will be missed by many," he said.
Arab students generally did not have high hopes for the short-term future of Middle East relations. "The future of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process does not look bright at the moment," Al-Hinai said.
Al-Hinai said a new generation of Palestinians has the opportunity to "choose the right path towards peace," but added that the re-election of President George W. Bush and Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon are "major obstacles to peace."
But sophomore Alex Zerden, co-president of Tufts' Friends of Israel, said the combination of recent events has created "a lot of potential for positive change." He cited Bush's re-election, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's focus on the peace process and Arafat's passing as elements of a new chance for peace.
"There's been a deadlock [in terms of the peace process] in the past years, so with most of these factors converging," Israel and Palestine may have a renewed opportunities to work together, Zerden said.
Bin-Humam said that no matter how willing the Palestinians may be to achieve a peaceful resolution with the Israelis, no compromise can be reached until Israel changes leaders as well. "I don't believe that a change of Palestinian regime will bring about anything good as long as a person like Ariel Sharon is prime minister of Israel," Bin Humam said.
Sophomore Rachel Rubin, co-president of Tufts' Friends of Israel, expressed the hope "that [Arafat's] death can mean that a peace process can begin. I think that Mr. Arafat was refusing the peace process, and wouldn't come back to the table for dialogue."
"He was not a partner for peace, and now that he's dead hopefully the peace process can begin once again," Rubin said.
Zerden argued that these kind of statements did not help the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. "We need serious dialogue about peace in the Middle East and the blame game needs to stop," Zerden said. "We need to start forging bonds instead of pointing fingers."
Bin-Humam warned Arafat's death will, in the short term, most likely induce greater political unrest as a new Palestinian leader assumes power. "I think that the struggle for authority will bring turmoil now that [Arafat] has passed, but at the same time, it leaves room for a more competent and hopeful leadership," he said.
Some Arab students expressed anger towards what they perceived to be callous and, at times, almost gleeful reactions to Arafat's death.
"I would ... like to express my deep disappointment in [Wednesday's] speaker, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Her utterly nonchalant and almost excited attitude towards the passing of Mr. Arafat was completely out of line and has deeply offended myself as well as others on the Tufts campus," Mohammed said.
Rubin said Clinton hadn't "said anything new" regarding the U.S. stance towards Arafat. "Her statements went along the [bipartisan] lines of U.S. foreign policy regarding Israel and Palestine."
But Al-Hinai said that disrespectful reactions to Arafat's death within Israel could also prove toxic for the peace process.
"I was very distressed and troubled by the reaction of some Israelis to Arafat's death," Al-Hinai said. "Most noted were the comments made by the Israeli Justice Minister, Yosef Lapid." Lapid said yesterday that Arafat should not be buried in Jerusalem because that is "where Jewish kings are buried, not Arab terrorists."
Zerden said Lapid's comments were not reflective of Israel's government or society, but were rather "a testament to democracy, where a variety of views can be expressed."
Al-Hinai said "the videos of Israelis singing and celebrating [Arafat's death] in the streets," while not a representation of all of Israel's populace, nevertheless represent "attitudes that represent the greatest obstacle to peace."
"The lack of communication, understanding and mutual respect between Palestinians and Israelis is the main source of conflict," Al-Hinai said.
Senior Erin Baldinger, president of Tufts' Hillel, said Muslim and Jewish students discussed their thoughts regarding the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations over dessert last night.
"It's very lucky that we have groups that are willing to engage in dialogue on these issues," Baldinger said. "We should continue to engage in these dialogues so that we can build strong relations between communities on campus and around the world."
