Category
November 18, 2004
The Blood of Arafat
There are reports that Yasser Arafat died from a blood disorder. His death, and in particular these reports, reminds me of a strange photograph that flew across the wires a couple days after Sept. 11. In it, Arafat was giving blood at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, arm outstretched and primed with a green tourniquet, needle in vein, blood flowing into a vial that would soon be en route to New York City. His donation would become part of what was quickly becoming a vast stockpile of blood for survivors who were thought and hoped to be clinging to life under the collapsed towers. I was in New York that day, and I remember studying the image and wondering about all the buckets of blood he himself had spilled. The more I looked at the photo, the more it seemed as if he was wondering about the same thing.
Where Are Arafat’s Millions?
With Yasser Arafat\’s burial, he took with him one of the enduring secrets of the Palestinian regime — the whereabouts of a missing fortune in ill-gotten public funds.
Obstacles Remain in Post-Arafat Era
The post-Arafat era has begun with high hopes in Washington, London, Jerusalem and even Ramallah — but many of the obstacles that prevented peace in Arafat\’s day remain, and it\’s not clear whether any of the major players has the single-minded determination to make peace happen.
The United States is not as actively involved as it may have to be; the Europeans, who would like to be intimately involved, don\’t have the necessary political clout; the Israeli leadership, insulated by strong American backing and facing a recalcitrant right wing, sees no need to hurry, and the new Palestinian leaders, hamstrung by radical, violent opponents, may not be able to make concessions beyond what the late Palestinian Authority president countenanced.
President Bush gave an inkling of the ambivalence inherent in American policy after a meeting last week in Washington with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Give Thanksgiving a Jewish Flavor
\”My sister-in-law stuffs Thanksgiving turkeys with a matzah ball mixture,\” says Faye Levy, food columnist and author of 14 cookbooks. \”Instead of making patties and poaching them, she cooks this tasty mixture inside the turkey.\”
This never struck Levy as odd, because her mother used to make noodle pudding on Thanksgiving.
\”Her Thanksgiving dinners were almost like Shabbat meals,\” she says.
One of Levy\’s all-time favorite dishes is Thanksgiving potato kugel with asparagus. \”I first tried it at the home of a friend from Colorado,\” she says, explaining that it was his grandmother\’s recipe.
\”In his family, that dish was the essence of Thanksgiving.\”
Peace Opportunity Requires U.S. Action
With Yasser Arafat in his Ramallah grave and President Bush promising to renew efforts to create a Palestinian state, speculation is mounting about exactly what the administration\’s next Mideast moves might be.
SAT, Grades Not Enough Anymore
Perry Factor looks like an ideal college applicant. The Harvard-Westlake senior scored 1530 on his SAT and maintains a 4.036 (weighted) GPA. He\’s volunteered for years at his former elementary school, is a production editor on the high school paper, sings in the school choir and is on the jujitsu team. Nevertheless, Factor said he\’s \”not entirely confident\” about getting into his top college choice, Rice University in Texas.
\”There are always horror stories about looking like the perfect candidate and not getting admitted,\” he said.
Like Factor, teens around the nation — and their parents — are finding an increasingly competitive atmosphere for college applicants.
\”There are more students applying than ever before … yet there are not necessarily more spaces,\” said Tami Gelb, college counselor at Yeshiva University High Schools of Los Angeles (YULA).
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