Arafat cancels Bethlehem Christmas celebrations
In an attempt to protest against the Israeli reaction to Palestinian suicide bombings, Yassir Arafat has cancelled Christmas in Bethlehem. Analysts believe that this is easily one of the most misguided attempts to cut off your nose to spite your face in modern history.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat on Wednesday ordered Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem canceled, to protest the IDF presence in the city.
Speaking to reporters at his Ramallah office, Arafat called the army's decision to declare Bethlehem a closed military zone until the end of the year a "crime."
"These [Israeli] measures mean that there is no Christmas this year," Arafat said.
Let's see if I have this straight: Arafat refuses to reign in Palestinian suicide bombers. The IDF moves into Palestinian strongholds in an attempt to gain a measure of control over their security. Then Arafat retaliates by cancelling Christmas? Am I missing something here? If memory serves, Christmas is a Christian holiday, and Israel is a Jewish nation. Why in the world would cancelling Christmas matter a damn to the IDF or the Israeli government?
All Arafat's misguided gesture will succeed in doing is hurting the very people he represents. Christmas and the tourism trade it generates is a HUGE income generator for Palestinians in Bethlehem. Cancelling Christmas simply means that shopkeepers, restauranteurs, and other Palestinians who benefit from tourism are going to take it in the shorts. Why should Israel care? It's not their holiday to begin with.
Palestinians know that they have no choice but to acquiesce, even though Arafat's order may well mean financial ruin. Arafat's Palestinian Authority is not reknowned for it's tolerance of dissent, so any Palestinian who complains is likely to find his shop burned to the ground. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. It's one thing when your policy towards your "occupier" has no basis in rational fact. It's quite another when you oppress your own people in the name of their freedom.
It's time to go, Chairman Arafat. You have long since outlived your usefulness....
