In death, as in life, Yasser Arafat breeds controversy. President Bush, who refused even to talk to him while he was alive, responded to his death by saying -God bless his soul.- Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby bristled at the comment , saying God will -damn [Arafat] for eternity- as the man -who brought modern terrorism to the world- and -inculcated the vilest culture of Jew-hatred since the Third Reich.- Arafat's funeral will be held tomorrow in Cairo, after which he'll be buried in the West Bank town of Ramallah. While his death may change the dynamics of the Middle East, here in Los Angeles, the Jewish-Muslim dialogue has continued, even after some Jewish leaders lost faith in its effectiveness. We talk with members of that dialogue, including Bassam Sharif of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Rabbi Stephen Jacobs of Temple Kol Tikvah in Woodland Hills, and Stanley Sheinbaum, who-s been a sort of personal ambassador to Arafat since 1988.
KCRW
