What has become known in the Hebrew press as the "Ginnosar Affair" --named after one of Arafat's Israeli business partners, Yossi Ginnosar -- sent shock waves through the Jewish state and Zionist diaspora. It wasn't just the enormity of the sums these erstwhile enemies were embezzling together while the peace process tanked. The alleged involvement of some senior members of the American Jewish peace camp in Arafat's corruption also cast a shadow on their efforts to help broker peace.
Take Stephen P. Cohen, a prominent Jewish freelance diplomat who spent much of the '90s jet-setting between Israel and Arab capitals, often backed by Slimfast diet tycoon S. Daniel Abraham. A seasoned Israeli investigative journalist accused him in 2002 of having profited from business dealings with Ginnosar and Arafat. No evidence was offered to suggest that Cohen had behaved unlawfully -- nor does he appear to have been as deeply involved with Arafat as Israel's Ginnosar, let alone PLO bagman Mohammed Rashid
Which merely confirms my suspicion that powerful elements on both sides of this conflict do not want a resolution, for the same reason our two political parties thrive on controversy and 50/50 elections: in the absence of fear, the money dries up.
