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Arafat and the Dream of Palestine: An Insider's Account
Abu Sharif was one of the world's most notorious and dangerous terrorists in the 60's and 70's, acting as "minister of propaganda" for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and as a recruiter for terrorists like Carlos the Jackal. In 1972, a bomb was placed in a book and sent to him, leaving him half-blind, deaf in one ear, and almost fingerless. Finally abandoning the use of violence as a means to achieve his Palestinian nationalist aspirations, he aligned himself with Yasser Arafat, eventually becoming one of his closest advisors.
In this book, Abu Sharif, often alongside Arafat, takes us behind the scenes of all the major events in the Middle East during the last 30 years, from the secret caves in the West Bank where Arafat hid on his way to Jerusalem in 1967 to the peace negotiations in Oslo in 1993. Arafat and the Dream of Palestine combines a deeply personal account, informed by Abu Sharif's close relationship with Arafat, with a gripping, profoundly human history of Palestine.
In this book, Abu Sharif, often alongside Arafat, takes us behind the scenes of all the major events in the Middle East during the last 30 years, from the secret caves in the West Bank where Arafat hid on his way to Jerusalem in 1967 to the peace negotiations in Oslo in 1993. Arafat and the Dream of Palestine combines a deeply personal account, informed by Abu Sharif's close relationship with Arafat, with a gripping, profoundly human history of Palestine.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 12, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 27, 2017
I read this book with the hope of exploring the Palestinian-Israeli struggle from the perspective of the Palestinian leadership. I came away very disappointed.
Bassam Abu Sharif’s account was inconsistent, erratic, and glossed over major points in history. In retrospect, I am not sure how much Arafat really took Abu Sharif into his confidence.
Abu Sharif’s memoir begins in 1971. He served as an advisor (on media and foreign affairs) and spokesman for Arafat. He goes to lengths to portray Arafat as personally generous, tactically clever, and an unwavering champion of the Palestinian people.
The author does provide some illuminating first-hand accounts of: the Jordanian civil war, the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, and the internal battles by PLO factions in Lebanon in the mid 1980’s.
Having said that; the “gloss over” effect is pretty hard to get past. Some events like the 1988 killing of Abu Jihad (Khalil Al Wazir) in Tunis are not even mentioned.
But worst of all was how was poorly the author covered beginning, and eventual breakdown, of the Oslo peace process. There is little mention of the initial secret negotiations, and no mention of the PLO’s transitioning into the Palestinian authority and the challenges of governing the territories. The author basically tries to skip from the Madrid conference in 1991 right to the siege of Arafat’s compound in Ramallah in 2001. A few words are spent on the breakdown of the Oslo accords which the author blames largely on Benjamin Netanyahu and Shimon Peres. Interestingly the word “Hamas” is not even mentioned in the book, so there is nothing on Hamas’s struggle with the PA and its bombing campaign in the 1990’s.
Abu Sharif’s hypocrisy (a problem with the narrative on both sides) is also clearly on display in chapter 10 entitled “Military Ethics Breached”. The focus of this chapter is a protest of how Israel violated international law by attacking PLO positions through a UN zone during its 1982 invasion of Lebanon. While this violation is undeniable, in seems rather duplicitous coming from the spokesman of an organization that attacks Israeli civilians as a matter of course (another topic that is glossed over).
If you’re looking for a book that will illuminate the struggle of Palestinians beyond mere propaganda, this is not the book for you.
Bassam Abu Sharif’s account was inconsistent, erratic, and glossed over major points in history. In retrospect, I am not sure how much Arafat really took Abu Sharif into his confidence.
Abu Sharif’s memoir begins in 1971. He served as an advisor (on media and foreign affairs) and spokesman for Arafat. He goes to lengths to portray Arafat as personally generous, tactically clever, and an unwavering champion of the Palestinian people.
The author does provide some illuminating first-hand accounts of: the Jordanian civil war, the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, and the internal battles by PLO factions in Lebanon in the mid 1980’s.
Having said that; the “gloss over” effect is pretty hard to get past. Some events like the 1988 killing of Abu Jihad (Khalil Al Wazir) in Tunis are not even mentioned.
But worst of all was how was poorly the author covered beginning, and eventual breakdown, of the Oslo peace process. There is little mention of the initial secret negotiations, and no mention of the PLO’s transitioning into the Palestinian authority and the challenges of governing the territories. The author basically tries to skip from the Madrid conference in 1991 right to the siege of Arafat’s compound in Ramallah in 2001. A few words are spent on the breakdown of the Oslo accords which the author blames largely on Benjamin Netanyahu and Shimon Peres. Interestingly the word “Hamas” is not even mentioned in the book, so there is nothing on Hamas’s struggle with the PA and its bombing campaign in the 1990’s.
Abu Sharif’s hypocrisy (a problem with the narrative on both sides) is also clearly on display in chapter 10 entitled “Military Ethics Breached”. The focus of this chapter is a protest of how Israel violated international law by attacking PLO positions through a UN zone during its 1982 invasion of Lebanon. While this violation is undeniable, in seems rather duplicitous coming from the spokesman of an organization that attacks Israeli civilians as a matter of course (another topic that is glossed over).
If you’re looking for a book that will illuminate the struggle of Palestinians beyond mere propaganda, this is not the book for you.
February 13, 2024
This is a book about Arafat’s thoughts and intentions through the eyes of Bassam Abu Sharif. Love him or hate him, Arafat’s process through serving the Palestinian people is laid out here. You won’t get details on lots of conflicts, but instead his thought process and reactions.
November 13, 2023
Cerita-cerita dibelakang tabir yang melibatkan Yaser Arafat dari mula beliau menjadi ketua Fateh sehingga beliau dalam kepungan oleh tentera penajajah di Ramallah yang kemudian diracun dan meninggal di Perancis.
April 27, 2024
“The rift became wider when the Syrian Ba’athists did not step in to help the PLO in 1970 against the Jordanian forces in Jordan.” p.52
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews