Legend has it that if one were to visit the grave site of Alfred Bernhard
Nobel in San Remo, Italy, and listen very closely, one would hear old Alfred
tossing and turning in his grave. The phenomenon is said to have begun in
1994 when a Norwegian peace prize committee bestowed its prestigious award,
named after its founder, to terrorist murderer Yasser Arafat.
Poor Mr. Nobel hasn’t been able to rest in peace since.
Nobel’s intention as described in his will was to annually distribute the
interest of a fund that he created to those individuals “Who during the
preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.”
In terms of the Peace Prize, it was dynamite inventor Nobel’s desire, that the award be presented to one “Who shall have done the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”
Examining the lifetime accomplishments of Arafat, it is hard to see exactly
how he was ever considered Nobel Peace Prize material. Arafat, to his credit,
can be linked to:
- The murder of 12 Israeli Olympians during the 1972 Munich games.
- The murder of the United States ambassador to the Sudan, Cleo Noel, in 1973.
- The bombing of the United States Marines barracks in Beirut in 1983 that
killed 241 people. - The hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship in 1985 and the murder of
hostage Leon Klinghoffer. - And, most recently, the current mini-war in Israel that has claimed hundreds of
lives including the lives of American citizens.
So what was the Nobel committee thinking in presenting Arafat with the
award?
Kare Kristiansen, a former member of the Nobel committee who resigned in
protest over Arafat’s nomination, said that the committee justified giving
the award to Arafat with the hope that the award would “Stimulate the future
peace process, and make it succeed in spite of serious obstacles.”
Seven bloody years later, an important lesson has been learned. A Nobel
Peace Prize winner isn’t always the best partner for peace. Arafat hasn’t
changed much since his moment of glory when he received the award. He still
remains the evil dictator that he always has been, ruling over his own
people with an iron fist and constantly seeking ways to annihilate the Jewish state
and its inhabitants. After Arafat turned down a more than generous offer at
Camp David last summer and instead initiated a war of terror against Israel,
it has become obvious even to those on the left that Oslo was doomed from
the start.
Following that 1993 handshake on the White House lawn and, most recently, in
the last nine months, the world has seen that Arafat and his cronies have no
intention of making peace.
While all previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians had
required the Palestinian Authority to prevent terrorism and discipline all elements that engage in terror, over three hundred captured terrorists were let loose last
September. Many of those felons are to be held accountable for taking
leadership roles in the current wave of violence. In addition, the official
Palestinian media outlets still engage in the business of inciting the
masses to use violence against Israel. In a fiery sermon on official Palestinian-Authority controlled television following the Tel-Aviv suicide bombing that
killed 20 Israelis, a Muslim religious leader called for an increase in
martyrdom through more suicide bombings against the Jewish nation.
The most significant indicator that peace is not even on the horizon are the
official Palestinian textbooks used in schools. On their hateful pages,
Jews are compared to “Nazis” and “dogs.” Maps of the Middle East include a
country called “Greater Palestine” while the word “Israel” is nowhere to be found.
This serves as a forecast of how the next generation of Palestinians will view
their fellow “peace partners.”
While Arafat has not shown signs of remorse or atonement nor a desire to
lead his people down a true path of peace, there is still a chance for the Nobel
committee to make amends for its error in judgment. There is still hope that
future generations will not include Yasser Arafat in the same breath as
someone like Dr. Martin Luther King when describing human beings that
dedicated their lives to the pursuit of peace and justice.
To reestablish the Nobel Peace Prize as the most distinguished, honorable,
and most celebrated award on the planet, it’s time to take back Yasser’s.
Let poor Alfred once again rest in peace.
Josh Hasten is editor of Jewishindy.com, an online community to help Jews learn more about Judaism by supporting local outreach and educational programs, as well as promoting online discussion of news, education, events, Torah, holidays and food.
