What’s Next?

Written by Henny Admoni

Students React to Arafat’s death and What is Yet to Come
News of Yassir Arafat’s death created waves in Jewish communities around the world, and media-obsessed college campuses in America were no exception. Though student reactions to the Palestinian leader’s passing range from relief to respect to outright happiness, the overarching mood is guarded but hopeful.

“He united a people who were certainly not one group into a nation, and that’s impressive,” said Wesleyan University sophomore Russell Berg. “And then his whole political career was devoted to pitting groups within the Palestinians against each other.” Berg suggested that Arafat’s thirst for power led him to keep factions in the nation small and in conflict. “His personal ambition overcame what should have been his life goal.”

When Arafat passed away, he left open the highest post in the Palestinian Authority (PA). Until a new president is elected, PA Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, has stepped into that role. Elections are scheduled, but many students recognize the danger in the possibility of ensuing disorder. “The biggest problem the Palestinians have right now is leadership,” says Berg. Some fear the chaos of the election, which is putting a strain on the internal politics in many of the various factions. “Secularism is important” for the new president, insists Berg. His candidate of choice is Abu Mazen, because of his education and progressivism.
Many welcome the possibility of an end to the radical tactics of the Palestinian government in the past. “The fact that Abu Mazen is more liberal than Arafat is encouraging,” says McGill University freshman Aya Dzen. However, the hope is tempered by realism. “Until the polarization caused by the extremists on both sides ceases, peace will never be reached,” says Seth Shapiro, a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania.

“I’m afraid the new leader won’t have the same support from the Palestinian people and that any efforts that Abu Mazen makes towards peace will be in vain because people won’t follow his lead,” worries Dzen. She adds quickly, “but from what I’ve read so far in the papers, there seems to be a lot of good potential.” Dzen describes her feelings as optimistic but nervous, a sentiment echoed by many students. “I’m waiting to see what happens after the election,” she concludes. “I don’t think that what’s happening now is a good indicator of what’s to come.”
Most students are unsure of where the upcoming elections will lead, but understand that a dramatic change is going to take place. “Will the changes be positive or will they be negative? That remains to be seen,” explains Daniel Roth, student at the University of Toronto in Canada.

Still other Jewish students are unaware of Arafat’s legacy. “He’s the Palestinian one, right?” asked Greg Genecin, a freshman at Wesleyan University. Regardless, most Jewish students are following the news with hope. As President Bush affirmed in his speech with Tony Blair, Arafat’s death signals a new era of possibility – a fact that has passed few college students by.

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.