MAHONING VALLEY Arafat vigil remembers late leader

He is the father of the modern Palestinian movement, said one speaker.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
LIBERTY -- Yasser Arafat was a champion of the aspirations of Palestinians for sovereignty, said a spokesman for the Arab community.
"No one can replace Yasser Arafat. He was a unique figure, much like George Washington was a unique figure in American history," said Ray Nakley, spokesman for the Arab Community Center, Belgrade Avenue, here. "He literally put Palestine back on the international map."
With a framed portrait of Arafat in front of the lectern, more than 40 people from the Mahoning Valley and beyond gathered Thursday evening at the center for a vigil and prayer service in Arafat's memory. On the walls were the flags of the United States, 22 Arab nations and the Palestinian flag.
"My prayer tonight is that we can see before too long a Palestinian state that comes into being -- that there can be this transition of leadership that can lead to a final agreement of statehood," said the Rev. James Ray, retired campus minister at Youngstown State University.
Arafat was "the living embodiment of the hopes, the dreams, the aspirations of the Palestinian people to assume their rightful place among the family of nations," Nakley said. "He created modern Palestinian nationalism."
Nationalist cause
Arafat was synonymous with the Palestinian nationalist cause for almost four decades in his roles as president of the Palestinian Authority and chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee.
He also founded and led Al-Fatah -- the Palestinian political party and guerilla organization. Arafat and Israeli leaders won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for the Oslo peace accords.
"Mr. Arafat has prepared the way and given an example that will strengthen those that come after him to do what is right, to do what is just and to be reasonable," Nakley told the audience. "This is the end of one era and the beginning of a new era."
Dave Safi of Ashtabula, a former Mahoning Valley resident, said he traveled to the event because of his respect for Arafat. "He is a peacemaker. He is one of the historic people," Safi said.
Jewish reaction
The local Jewish community said Arafat's passing represents an opportunity for improved Arab-Israeli relations.
"The death of Yasser Arafat represents an opportunity for the Palestinian people to abandon leaders who have led a failed campaign of violence and terror," said Atty. Alan Kretzer, chairman of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation.
"Arafat's death must not be used as a pretext to attack Israelis. Rather, it is an opportunity for the Palestinian people to realize that the last four years of terror have only hurt their cause," he added.
"Israel and her supporters would welcome Palestinian leaders who embrace this opportunity to commit to an end to terror and a genuine return to the path of peace," Kretzer said.
"The Jewish community looks at this moment in time as an opportunity for future peace in the region," said Atty. Bonnie Deutsch Burdman, JCRC director. "We all welcome new Palestinian leadership which is moderate and would embrace that opportunity."
The New York-based United Jewish Communities said in a prepared statement: "We cannot help but contrast him with such figures as the late Anwar Sadat of Egypt and the late King Hussein of Jordan, both of whom were so far-sighted and statesmanlike as to ultimately choose a course of peace with their neighbor, Israel, rather than seeking the destruction of the Jewish state."
The local Jewish federation is among 155 Jewish federations in North America that belong to UJC.