Hart Nat Hentoff David Horowitz Arianna Huffington Marianne Jennings Michael Kelly Mort Kondracke Ch.
History answers that violent words can lead to violent deeds.
The question is raised by the latest incidence of anti-Jewish hate speech by a leading figure in the Palestinian Authority. In this case, the offender was none other than Suha Arafat, the wife of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who chose to accuse Israel of using poison gas to kill Palestinian women and children. Mrs. Arafat s chutzpah was compounded by the fact that she made the remarks in the presence of America s first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Most of the commentary on this flap has concentrated on its possible effect on New York voters. Yet there is more here to think about than whether or not Mrs. Clinton s political future has been harmed by her failure to respond promptly and specifically to these despicable and utterly preposterous charges.