Epstein Secrets

quite a while, he remained dismissive. He believed the chances of a breakthrough were remote. He was also suspicious of the involvement of Peres and Beilin, whom he called “Shimon’s poodle’. And he deeply distrusted Arafat. The PLO had been founded with the aim of “liberating” every inch of Palestine. Th

be at stake for Damascus, I certainly couldn’t see the Phalangists being able to drive them out by force. The more immediate, open question involved Arafat and the Palestinians. Our other two invasion forces had driven almost all the PLO fighters out of south Lebanon, though not without costs and casualt

s, and at the dinner held at one of King Juan Carlos’s palatial estates, and, for me, a first opportunity to meet not only Arab foreign ministers but Yasir Arafat. My first, brief encounter with Arafat began a bit embarrassingly. I’d arrived a few minutes early for the conference dinner and was led into an imp

rust and proper rapport — were two economics professors from the University of Haifa, Yair Hirschfeld and Ron Pundak, dispatched under the aegis of Beilin. The PLO sent senior staff: Ahmed Qurei, the finance minister of the PLO, and Hassan Asfour, an official liaison. At one point major tension erupte

onday at New York City's Lincoln Center, brings to life the largely unknown drama of the secret back-channel negotiations that resulted in PLO chief Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shaking hands over the first peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. While many memories of tha

first peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. While many memories of that momentous day, and of the famous agreement, focus on Rabin and Arafat and on the personal and political chasms they and their colleagues had to cross while forging it — the play focuses on other people: those who toil

quite a while, he remained dismissive. He believed the chances of a breakthrough were remote. He was also suspicious of the involvement of Peres and Beilin, whom he called "Shimon's poodle". And he deeply distrusted Arafat. The PLO had been founded with the aim of "liberating" every inch of Palestine. Th

be at stake for Damascus, I certainly couldn't see the Phalangists being able to drive them out by force. The more immediate, open question involved Arafat and the Palestinians. Our other two invasion forces had driven almost all the PLO fighters out of south Lebanon, though not without costs and casualt

s, and at the dinner held at one of King Juan Carlos's palatial estates, and, for me, a first opportunity to meet not only Arab foreign ministers but Yasir Arafat. My first, brief encounter with Arafat began a bit embarrassingly. I'd arrived a few minutes early for the conference dinner and was led into an impr