Arafat: From Defender to Dictator

by Saïd K. Aburish

In this meticulously researched and iconoclastic work, Said Aburish, the internationally respected Palestinian political analyst and writer, turns the popular western perception of Yasser Arafat upside-down. Far from being the benign heroic freedom fighter who has kept the hopes of his displaced people alive, Arafat is revealed as a narrow-minded operator, out of touch with reality, whose personal ambitions and lack of understanding of democratic principles have made him a deterrent to real peace in the Middle East.

Aburish exposes the unsound foundations of Arafat's leadership, and shows that his PLO has never been a revolutionary movement; rather Arafat and the PLO have always represented an elite group of Palestinian families who have grown ever more rich. Moreover, Aburish has discovered from hitherto silent but impeccable sources that since 1963, when Arafat first established contact with the CIA in Beirut, the PLO has conducted a secret dialogue with the US, amounting to a betrayal of its people- in effect an agreement to avoid military or economic confrontation with Israel.

Aburish goes on to demonstrate that, in his current role as President of the Palestinian Authority, Arafat has created one of the ugliest expressions of absolute dictatorship, even by Middle Eastern standards, in the world today. He concludes with a stimulating analysis of the likely future for Palestine and of the crucial world implications.

Genres: Biography, History, Middle East, Politics, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Palestinian journalist and writer.

Saïd K. Aburish was born in the biblical village of Bethany near Jerusalem in 1935. One of his grandfathers was a Muslim judge of the Islamic High Court and a lecturer at the Arab college; the other was a village headman.

Aburish attended school in Jerusalem and Beirut, and university in the United States. He returned to Beirut as a reporter for Radio Free Europe and the London Daily Mail. He consulted for two Arab governments and written several books.

Reviews

[Sleepless Dreamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I had half of Aburish's snark. Also, the Oslo accords were made because Arafat was broke and they essentially created the Palestinian dictatorship we all know and love.

Review to come!

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, balanced book, which deals with the myth and symbolism that surrounds Arafat, and brings us back to remind us how all too human he was.

[Samuel Draper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lauren and I were sold this book in a nearby East Jerusalem bookshop. The Palestinian owner told us that it was the best biography of Arafat that exists, which I found compelling precisely considering the subtitle. It was an incredibly well written book and gave me not only an unparalleled look into the creation and actions of the man who was the living symbol of the Palestinian people, but also an understanding of the political history of the surrounding Arab countries from the 1920s-2000. The fascinating story of Arafat's rise to prominence despite the opposition of Arab leaders and his undying dream for the Palestinian people was amazing to watch. However, the tragic result of his failings that have contributed to the state of affairs of the last 30 years was unflinchingly revealed by Aburish to an unparalleled extent. He is an incredible journalist and investigator, and of course, his shared identity certainly allowed him to uncover these answers to a greater extent than any other author could. That is testified to by the sheer amount of personal interviews and local organizations that he cites. Fantastic book.

Highly recommend to anyone interested in understanding the history of Palestinian politics and the PLO/creation and current shape of the PA.

[Danilo Lipisk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know the author Saïd K. Aburish and so I read the book without much expectation, thinking I would find yet another book that was nothing more than a deification of Arafat and a unilateral demonization of Israel.

The book is exactly the opposite of that. Aburish is quite critical of Arafat to the point that at one point I thought to myself while reading the book "Wow, Said Aburish must really not like this Arafat".

Egocentric, opportunistic, often weak and out of touch, the Palestinian leader presented in this work makes us reflect on why the Palestinians entered the 21st century in an even worse situation than at any time in their history. The return of Arafat and the PLO to the Palestinian territories in the 90s, according to the author, instead of continuing the construction of a Palestinian state, destroyed the "little state" that was there when Arafat began to bureaucratize all institutions Palestinians with their henchmen and their extremely corrupt organization.

It is a mandatory book for anyone studying the topic of Israel/Palestine. The book is simply EXCELLENT.

I'm going to look for several other books by this author, because the impression I had of this work was the best possible.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first biography of its kind written by a fellow Palestinian, Said Aburish's look at the life of Arafat gives an enlightening account of the triumphs and failures of one of the Middle East's most divisive figures. Aburish states in the introduction that he refused Arafat's offers of interviews and help with the book in order to remain unbiased in his account of the Fatah leader's life.

The book attempts to dispel myths surrounding the PLO frontman (such as his claims of being born in Jerusalem among others) and Aburish is not hesitant to criticize Arafat's hunger for the limelight, poor organizational skills, and inability to control the various Palestinian liberation movements and how these flaws hurt the Palestinian cause numerous times throughout his career. However, the author treats his subject fairly and paints an engaging picture of how a young Arafat fought his way to the forefront of the world stage through a combination of sheer tenacity, perseverance, work ethic, and force of personality.

I highly recommend this biography for anyone looking to learn more about the man, the Palestinian liberation movement, and the evolution of the Arab-Israeli limp towards peace.

[Tristan Laing]

It's popular today for Palestine activists to take an extremely dismissive line on Arafat. The more you read the details, the more you are inoculated against one-sided anti-leadership rhetoric - while at the same time making yourself more aware of the problematic aspects of Arafat's career which people are quite right to critique.