TIME Capsule from September 1993
HISTORY IN A HANDSHAKE
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Nobody was sure the touch of hands would happen. No formal request had been sent through diplomatic channels. Arafat wanted desperately to come; Rabin didn't. Arafat wanted to show up on the lawn with his holster holding his faithful Smith & Wesson and, with a great flourish, to unstrap the gun and hand it to Clinton. That was vetoed: too much theater even on that day.
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It's not easy to be a Palestinian under the thumb of Arafat's altruists. Woe to anyone who tries to protest or, for that matter, who fails to profusely praise. Journalists were jailed and tortured because they dared quote "President" Arafat below the page 1 fold rather than in the lead. They weren't duly respectful of the boss.
He too enjoys the lifestyle of the rich and famous. No luxury is spared this globetrotter, including private plane and financial stashes far and near (as near as Tel Aviv). Yet a damning expos* of Arafat's personal corruption was for now shelved by the Foreign Ministry. Presumably Shimon Peres believes it's expedient to let the world continue regarding Arafat as the unshaven, beleaguered hero.
To accentuate the above image, Arafat sought to parley with Ehud Barak while toting a revolver in his holster. Bill Clinton vetoed the gun, remarking that "Camp David isn't Rio Bravo."
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"The United Nations has long played a constructive role in Middle East affairs. Its record of fairness and balance makes it an ideal forum for settling the Arab-Israeli dispute."
FACT
Starting in the mid-1970s, an Arab-Soviet-Third World bloc joined to form what amounted to a pro-Palestinian lobby at the United Nations. This was particularly true in the General Assembly where these countries—nearly all dictatorships or autocracies—frequently voted together to pass resolutions attacking Israel and supporting the PLO.
In 1974, for example, the General Assembly invited Yasir Arafat to address it. Arafat did so, a holster attached to his hip. In his speech, Arafat spoke of carrying a gun and an olive branch (he left his gun outside before entering the hall). A year later, at the instigation of the Arab states and the Soviet Bloc, the Assembly approved Resolution 3379, which slandered Zionism by branding it a form of racism.
U.S. Ambassador Daniel Moynihan called the resolution an “obscene act.” Israeli Ambassador Chaim Herzog told his fellow delegates the resolution was “based on hatred, falsehood and arrogance.” Hitler, he declared, would have felt at home listening to the UN debate on the measure.1
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Arafat Displays Gun in Public
By The Associated Press
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Yasser Arafat displayed a holstered pistol yesterday - the first time he has shown a weapon in public since returning from exile in 1994, and reviving memories of the day he carried a gun into the United Nations more than a quarter-century ago.
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Afterward, Arafat pulled out a German-made machine pistol and gripped it by its carrying case as he passed an honor guard at his office in Gaza City. Talking to reporters, he charged angrily that the Israeli army coordinated the protest with the settlers to block his way.
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Arafat entered Gaza in triumph in 1994 after an interim peace agreement with Israel allowed him to set up the Palestinian Authority to administer parts of the West Bank and Gaza. He never stopped wearing his military-style uniform, but he did not display arms.
While in exile, he carried a pistol in a holster. He caused an uproar on Nov. 13, 1974, by carrying a gun into the U.N. General Assembly. It was practically unheard of for a world leader to bring a weapon into the building.
In his speech then, Arafat said he had come "bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun," and added, ``Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand.''
The machine pistol Arafat picked up yesterday is one of the weapons his guards carry in his car, a bodyguard said. His decision to carry the weapon in view of reporters appeared to be a symbolic gesture, since he did not threaten anyone with it. But it showed how deep the anger and mistrust has become with the continuing violence and the absence of peace negotiations.
