I had not heard the claim that Arafat was gay so I did a little research. While news in the sense that most people were unaware of his homosexuality, this has apparently been an open secret to the world's intelligence community. Lt. General Ion Pacepa, former deputy chief of Romanian foreign intelligence, discussed Arafat's homosexuality in his 1987 book. Among Pacepa's responsibilities was the job of writing a dossier on Arafat. Pacepa's agents discovered that Arafat was embezzling a large portion of PLO for Arafat's own Swiss bank accounts and that Arafat was gay. His homosexual relationships, beginning with his teacher when he was a teenager and ending with his current bodyguards. According to Pacepa, the Romanian government has recordings of Arafat in orgies with his men. I doubt the Romanians were the only ones to bug Arafat and I predict that one of these recording will eventually find its way to the internet.
The Israel Insiderhas more, including some quotes from Pacepa's book (which I have no desire to post here). I'm still not 100% convinced this is true as it seems perfectly crafted to prevent Arafat from becoming a Palestinian martyr, but I doubt Mossad is smart enough nor patient enough to plant the story in a book released in 1987 and then sit back for seventeen years until Arafat dies of AIDS. So for this column, let's assume the story is correct and Arafat was a homosexual.
The Koran explicitly bans and condemns same-sex intercourse. Homosexuals are despised in Islamic culture and known homosexuals are frequently sentenced to hard labor or officially executed. If most Arabs come to believe that Arafat was a homosexual, they will not want to claim him as a martyr. He certainly will not be seen as a Islamic warrior if he becomes known as a homosexual. Even without this rumor, the major Palestinian leaders are arguing amongst themselves and calling Arafat's wife hysterical.
Although this will be a major issue for the Palestinians, the sexuality of Arafat is not the biggest unanswered question. Many people want to know how to access the billions of dollars Arafat has embezzled over the years. As the cliché has it, it is always darkest before the dawn. Hopefully the coming chaos in Palestine will pave the way for a leader who may be able to negotiate a peace with Israel.
What I don't understand is why the wife of Arafat was receiving over 100,000K a month: do you think that was silence money on his homosexuality. And how was this kept silent. First I've heard of it. And it has been reported that the last time Arafat saw the bereft widow was in the year 2000. Some marriage. Best REgards Linda