Free Republic

Uri Avnery was the first Israeli to meet with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, and one of the last. While many Israelis blamed Arafat for the failure of the Oslo Accords and for leading the reign of terror which replaced it, Avnery said he never lost his faith in the Palestinian leader. "Arafat was not only a great national leader, but he was a partner with whom we could have made peace and should have made peace," said the 81-year-old long-time activist and former journalist. "I was the first Israeli who ever spoke with Yasser Arafat; it was unusual. My...

For those of us who have followed the career of Uri Avnery, we know him as an extreme leftist, a turncoat, if you will. He preferred to embrace the Palestinian cause rather than the Jewish one. Ari Shavit reported in a brilliant interview with Avnery on Yasser Arafat in a Ha'aretz article called "Missing Arafat". This article is essential reading for any student of the Middle East. Some of what Avnery says is true. Arafat will go down in history as a man who changed the course of history. His accomplishments are monumental. Avnery will go down in history as...

Wed Sep 3, 1:15 PM ET Israeli peace activists demonstrate in Tel Aviv, September 3, 2003. Israel has carried out six helicopter missile attacks against Islamic militants since a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 21 Israelis in an attack on a Jerusalem bus on August 19. REUTERS/Nir Elias Wed Sep 3, 1:49 PM ET An Israeli soldier, left, watches as Israeli left-wing activists demonstrate against the Israeli policy of targeted killing in the Palestinian territories in front of the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv Wednesday Sept. 3, 2003. (AP Photo/Eitan Hess-Ashkenazi) Wed Sep 3, 1:07 PM ET Israeli peace...