The death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat stirred the minds and hearts of University professors and students interested in the Middle East.
The 75-year-old leader died in Paris after a serious illness and his body arrived in Cairo for a memorial service Thursday afternoon. Arafat will be buried in Ramallah.
One professor, Amaney Jamal, who is teaching a course on Middle Eastern politics this term — POL 364: Political Systems of the Middle East — said the death is likely to cause extensive reshuffling of the Palestinian leadership.
She said that the peace process will only start up again with a commitment by the Israelis and the Palestinians.
"That will naturally depend on the Palestinians' choice of leader and the Israeli leadership's response to him or her," she said.
But Jamal sees roadblocks.
She argues that the Palestinians must stop supporting terrorist organizations, namely Hamas, if they want to facilitate dialogue with the Israelis.
If they do not "give ground" on this issue, she said, the peace process will not go forward.
"If this vital issue does not change," Jamal said, "things for the Palestinians will be very bleak."
Student reaction
Nevertheless, some students are hopeful.
Sarit Kattan '06, president of Princeton Israel Public Affairs Committee, sees Arafat's death as a possibility for a new beginning.
She said that Arafat's actions had brought bilateral negotiations to a standstill.
"I do recognize that he was a difficult man to have a peace process with," Kattan said. "But, I don't think he should be diminished as a hero for his people."
Sherene Awad '05, vice president of the Princeton Committee For a Free Palestine, was shocked and troubled by Arafat's death.
Awad attributes his final demise to his treatment by the Israeli government.
"Locking an old man in a bunker for three years isn't going to do anything but kill him," Awad said, referring to Arafat's lockdown in a Ramallah complex for the past three years by the Israeli military.
Awad criticized Israeli policies, arguing that the continuation of settlement-building has been a major thorn in the side of real dialogue and Israeli stubbornness has crippled the progression toward peace.
Awad said Arafat's contribution to the peace process cannot be denied and that all sides must recognize his valiant attempts at securing a homeland for his people.
"We owe everything to him," she said.
Jamal expressed her hope that the 1993 peace talks that culminated in Oslo can be restarted with a renewed effort.
She said the new Palestinian leadership must also focus on confidence-building by emphasizing the real possibility for cooperation, she said.
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