By their eulogies shall ye know them
You can tell a lot about people from the individuals whom they choose to eulogise, lionise or sanitise. George Habash, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, died last weekend in Jordan. This is what he did:
· 1968: Hijacking of El Al flight from Rome to Lod airport in Israel, diverted to Algiers, where 21 passengers and 11 crew members were held for
39 days.
· 1968: Firing on an El Al passenger jet in Athens about to take off for New York, killing an Israeli mechanic.
· 1969: Attack on El Al airliner at Zürich airport, killing the co-pilot and wounding the pilot.
· 1969: Bombing of a Jerusalem supermarket, killing two Israelis and wounding twenty others.
· 1969: Hijacking of a TWA flight from Los Angeles to Damascus by a PFLP cell led by Leila Khaled. Two Israeli passengers were held for 44 days.
· 1970: Attacks a bus containing El Al passengers at Munich airport, killing one passenger and wounding 11.
· 1970: Bombs in mid-air a Swissair flight bound for Israel, killing all 47 people on board.
· 1970: Hijacks four passenger aircraft from Pan Am, TWA and Swissair, diverting them to Cairo and Zarqa, Jordan and then blowing them up in front of the world media.
· 1972: PFLP terrorists massacre 27 Israelis, including Professor Aharon Katzir, at Israel's Lod (later Ben Gurion) Airport.
· 1975: In a raid led by Carlos the Jackal, PFLP seizes the OPEC office in Vienna, taking 60 hostages before being flown to safety in the
Arab world.
· 1976: PFLP and Baader-Meinhof terrorists seize an Air France flight and hold its passengers and crew hostage at Entebbe, Uganda, until the latter are rescued by Israeli commandos. Seized OPEC leaders meeting in
Vienna.
· 1981: Abducted and threatened four American journalists in Beirut in 1981.
· 2001: Murders Meir Lixenberg, councillor and head of security in four Israeli settlements, who was shot while travelling in his car.
· 2001: PFLP terrorists assassinated Rehavam Ze'evi, Israeli Minister of Tourism.
· 2001 Carries out suicide bombing in Karnei Shomron, killing three.
· 2001: Carries out suicide bombing in a Netanya market, killing three.
· 2003: Carries out a suicide bombing in the bus station at Geha Junction in Petah Tiqva, killing four.
· 2004: Carries out a suicide bombing in the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv, killing three.
39 days.
· 1968: Firing on an El Al passenger jet in Athens about to take off for New York, killing an Israeli mechanic.
· 1969: Attack on El Al airliner at Zürich airport, killing the co-pilot and wounding the pilot.
· 1969: Bombing of a Jerusalem supermarket, killing two Israelis and wounding twenty others.
· 1969: Hijacking of a TWA flight from Los Angeles to Damascus by a PFLP cell led by Leila Khaled. Two Israeli passengers were held for 44 days.
· 1970: Attacks a bus containing El Al passengers at Munich airport, killing one passenger and wounding 11.
· 1970: Bombs in mid-air a Swissair flight bound for Israel, killing all 47 people on board.
· 1970: Hijacks four passenger aircraft from Pan Am, TWA and Swissair, diverting them to Cairo and Zarqa, Jordan and then blowing them up in front of the world media.
· 1972: PFLP terrorists massacre 27 Israelis, including Professor Aharon Katzir, at Israel's Lod (later Ben Gurion) Airport.
· 1975: In a raid led by Carlos the Jackal, PFLP seizes the OPEC office in Vienna, taking 60 hostages before being flown to safety in the
Arab world.
· 1976: PFLP and Baader-Meinhof terrorists seize an Air France flight and hold its passengers and crew hostage at Entebbe, Uganda, until the latter are rescued by Israeli commandos. Seized OPEC leaders meeting in
Vienna.
· 1981: Abducted and threatened four American journalists in Beirut in 1981.
· 2001: Murders Meir Lixenberg, councillor and head of security in four Israeli settlements, who was shot while travelling in his car.
· 2001: PFLP terrorists assassinated Rehavam Ze'evi, Israeli Minister of Tourism.
· 2001 Carries out suicide bombing in Karnei Shomron, killing three.
· 2001: Carries out suicide bombing in a Netanya market, killing three.
· 2003: Carries out a suicide bombing in the bus station at Geha Junction in Petah Tiqva, killing four.
· 2004: Carries out a suicide bombing in the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv, killing three.
This is what Mahmoud Abbas, of whom President Bush said in his State of the Union address today:
Palestinians have elected a president who recognizes that confronting terror is essential to achieving a state where his people can live in dignity and at peace with Israel,said of George Habash:
The death of this historic leader is a great loss for the Palestinian cause and for the Palestinian people for whom he fought for 60 yearsand he ordered Palestinian Authority flags to be flown at half mast for three days.
This is what three loyal and patriotic Israeli Arab members of Israel's parliament, Ahmed Tibi, Jamal Zahalka, and Wassal Taha did: they attended the funeral of Habash, the arch-enemy of the state in whose parliament they sit, with Tibi declaring:
I have come to pay my respects to a leader who has become a symbol of the struggle for freedom and national libertyalthough Zahalka, who called Habash
one of the most important Palestinian leaders of the 20th centurydid add that
the bloodshed should be stopped. Our party always opposed attacks on civiliansbut not enough, apparently, to cause him to stay away from the funeral.
This is what the moderate statesmen of the Palestinian General Delegation to the UK sent out on email:
Subject: Condolences for Dr George HabashThe Palestinian ambassador and members of the Palestinian General Delegation to the UK received with deep sadness the news of the loss of a great Palestinian leader—Dr George Habash. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, the Palestinian people and all freedom loving people in the world. A pillar of Palestine’s national movement who spent his entire life defending his people’s cause, Dr Habash’s legacy is an inspiration to the many generations to come. We salute him.Written condolences are received at the Palestinian General Delegation to the UK.
And not forgetting of course the BBC, whose hagiography obituary of Habash described him as
one of the most important Palestinian militant leaderswhose PFLP
would carry out some of the defining attacks of the era. These catapulted the Palestinian cause onto the international news agenda, but did not always generate sympathy for the Palestinians. Many people in Israel and the West thought that George Habash was a terrorist. For many Palestinians and Arabs he was a patriot.By their eulogies shall ye know them…