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CLAS Alumnus Talks About his Experiences in the Middle East  Edward Abington, BA (Political Science, 1966) and MA (Political Science with a concentration in International Relations, 1967), spent three days at UF in October and gave a series of seminars and lectures about topics such as the Middle East peace process, negotiating religious conflict, and choosing a Foreign Service career. His visit, which was sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies in conjunction with the political science department, was an opportunity for CLAS to learn from an experienced insider about the struggles of negotiating peace in one of the most contested regions in history.
Since graduating from UF, Abington has had a distinguished 30-year career in the Foreign Service, most of which was spent in the Middle East and Washington, DC dealing with the Arab-Israeli dispute. His last overseas assignment was in Jerusalem from 1993-97 as the American Consul General. He was the senior American representative dealing with President Arafat and other members of the Palestinian National Authority. He helped negotiate various Israeli-Palestinian agreements, including the 1995 Interim Agreement and the 1997 Hebron Agreement. Abington has retired from the Foreign Service and now lives in Washington, DC where he provides counsel to the Palestinian National Authority on its relations with Washington. On November 4, 1995, Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. In the following article, Abington tells CLASnotes about his experiences surrounding that event. |
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Cn: What happened when you broke the news to Yasser Arafat of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination? EA: I was at a party that evening in Jerusalem when someone called me on my cell phone to tell me that Rabin had been shot. I immediately went home and called Arafat in Gaza and told him the news. The first thing that he asked me was whether it was an Israeli or a Palestinian. Quite obviously, he felt that if it were a Palestinian who had shot Rabin the repercussions would be extremely serious. I told him that it appeared to be a young Israeli who was opposed to the peace process. When the American ambassador, Martin Indyk, phoned and told me that Rabin had died, I called Arafat back and told him the news. He asked me two or three times, "Are you sure? Are you really sure? How can you be sure?" Then he started crying. He was just overcome with emotion. He said, "I have lost my partner. What will become of the peace process now?" He was really shaken by it. Even now as I think about it, it was a tremendously emotional event. Needless to say, it was an extremely difficult period. The Israelis put on what was in essence a state funeral. If a Jew dies, he or she is supposed to be buried within 24 hours. Because Rabin was so widely admired, however, they delayed it for 48 hours. President Clinton went, Hosni Mubarak, King Hussein--many, many people. Arafat really wanted to go and he kept asking me whether or not he should. I told him, "This is something that has to be worked out with the Israelis. I cannot tell you yes or no." Through the American ambassador we talked to Shimon Peres, who was then the acting prime minister. Peres was really torn. He felt that if Arafat were to come to Jerusalem, the security implications of trying to protect him would be tremendous. In the end, Peres decided that he could not agree to allow Arafat to attend. I think Arafat was genuinely disappointed and felt very badly. In part because in Islamic culture, and also among Jews, part of the culture is to pay condolence calls on people who die, much more so than in the US. If you are Jewish you sit shivah (in mourning) for seven days after the person has been buried. Everyone comes and calls on you. It is much the same in Islamic society. I think that Arafat, as a sign of respect, genuinely wanted to attend Rabin's funeral. He wanted to bid farewell, but that didn't happen. The day after the funeral, Arafat asked me to come see him in Gaza. When I got there, he asked me if I would smuggle him in disguise, in my car, through the Israeli checkpoints, and take him to Tel Aviv to pay a condolence call on Rabin's widow. I was stunned by it--if you can imagine going through an Israeli military checkpoint with Yasser Arafat in disguise. I said to him, "Mr. President I cannot do that. It is too dangerous. What if something happened to you? Rabin has just been assassinated and God knows what would happen to the peace process if something happened to you. You have to put yourself in Israeli hands. They will have to do this for you." So again I called the American ambassador. He agreed with my position. He talked with the Israelis and they flew a helicopter down to Gaza. They picked up Arafat and a couple of his colleagues and secretly flew them up to Tel Aviv. The Israelis took them to Rabin's apartment and Leah Rabin was there, along with her son and daughter. It was a remarkable event. There is an incredible photograph of Arafat, sitting without his keffiyah (headcover) on--and it's the only photograph I have ever seen of him without his keffiyah--with Leah Rabin, a small group of Israelis, and a group of his colleagues. It was stunning. There was Arafat, sitting in Tel Aviv, paying a condolence call on the family of Yitzhak Rabin. |
