Book dossier

Arafat

by Janet Wallach, John Wallach

In this groundbreaking biography, Arafat: In the Eyes of the Beholder, Janet and John Wallach portray the real PLO leader who has persevered against his enemies. They examine Arafat from the perspective of friends, foes, and family who have dealt with him and know him best: Palestinians, Jordanians, Syrians, Israelis, Americans, and, most important, Arafat himself. Arafat discloses many previously unknown details of a life shrouded in mystery - from Arafat's childhood to his days as a student leader in Cairo, from his organization's involvement in terrorism to his calls for coexistence, from the women who were part of his hidden love life to Suha Tawil, the attractive Christian-reared woman whom he married. Arafat charts the course of secret CIA-PLO contacts that laid the basis for subsequent peace efforts, tells how Arafat was persuaded to renounce terrorism and accept Israel, and details the negotiations leading to the Madrid conference, the landmark Oslo accords, the first democratic Palestinian elections, the formation of the Palestinian National Authority, and the recent Hebron agreement. The Wallachs have had extensive access to Arafat, his relatives, colleagues, and close advisers. They have spent hundreds of hours with key personalities in the Middle East, including Arafat's Palestinian supporters as well as his opponents, and with the leaders of the key Middle Eastern nations involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The result is a significant exploration of a man who, despite his earlier notoriety and his long list of enemies, has not only survived but has attained the status of world leader.