Re-read my previous post.... nope it's not patronizing in the least.
You, on the otherhand are quite patronizing. You prefer to disregard who and what Arafat truly was. You do them more of a disservice than I . You think your hugs compensate for the sons and daughters they sacrificed to suicide missions in Arafat's cause? You want to feel their grief??? (Calling Bill Clinton, biting lip, tear in eye). And by the way I don't think they are stupid which is precisely why they are capable of being told the hard truth by the world instead of these ridiculous diplomatic overtures at repainting Arafat as a hero.
As far as your last comment "an expression of sympathy for people grieving would be unexceptional.":
Their grief is our joy. (Refer to previous post: photo of Palestinian woman celebrating the deaths of America on Sept. 11, 2001 - yeah, it's kind of like that). The world has one less "evil-doer" (to take a word from our President) to worry about.
Don't forget that while you are hugging them and kissing their @sses they're deciding on the new Terrorist-in-Chief that can lead them to victory over the 'infidel' (oh, that means us).
That's repugnant. Jesus didn't die so we would wallow in the grief of our enemies. American Protestantism tends towards this isolationism.
SD