You Gotta Laugh

Another thing I love about Israel is the ever-present need to read the news with a sense of humor. It's hard sometimes - there are rocket attacks - several today, attempted terrorist attacks - two 15-year-old Palestinian boys caught today planning to attack a Jewish holy site, and too many traffic accidents.

But then, in the midst of it all, comes the humor. From today's Israel National News:

Senior Palestinian Authority official Farouk Kadoumi recently told a Tunisian paper that Israel was responsible for the deaths of former PA Chairman Yasser Arafat and former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon killed Arafat using poison, he said. He accused Israel of “further crimes in Lebanon and Iraq” as part of a scheme to gain control in the Middle East. Hariri was assassinated in 2005. Lebanese lawmakers and United Nations investigators suspect Syrian involvement in the killing. While the cause of Arafat’s death in 2004 has never been revealed, speculation supported by some PA sources includes rumors that he died of AIDS.

Never one to worry about the truth and the reality of events and facts here in Israel, Farouk Kadoumi has come up with the latest of his many lies and exaggerations. All evidence points solidly to Hariri being murdered by the Syrians. The simple fact, some three years after his death is that Arafat's illness has never been confirmed because the rumors are probably correct. Either way, no evidence existed then (or now) to suggest even the tiniest of truth in Kadoumi's words.

So, in Israel, we accept. Arab leaders will float their lies hoping to fool anyone they can into believing and this too is a reality we live with daily. The only difference, it seems, is that sometimes the lies of Palestinian leaders infuriate us versus today, when they simply amuse us.