Birthplace of Yasser Arafat
The French are being... french again.
Charles at
LGF links to this report at
Yahoo/AFP:
bq.
Israeli ambassador criticises France over Arafat death certificate
The Israeli ambassador has criticised the French government for issuing a death certificate for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat stating his place of birth as Jerusalem.
bq. "I cannot understand how the French government agreed to issue a death certificate based on false information," ambassador Nissim Zvili told a press conference in Montpellier.
Who was he and where was he born:
bq. Arafat was born Mohammed Abdel-Rawf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Hussaini, on August 4, 1929.
bq. The official version of his life history records he was born in Jerusalem. However numerous biographers agree that he was born in Cairo, where his Gaza-born father owned a business.
For a few links to Main Stream Media reporting on Arafat's birth city check these out:
CNN --
"Arafat was born in Cairo in 1929."
Baltimore Sun --
"Egypt, champion of the Palestinian cause, stepped in to host the funeral for Arafat -- who was born in Cairo..."
MSNBC --
"CAIRO, Egypt - Yasser Arafat was born in Cairo but the choice of this city as the venue for his funeral has more to do with politics than personal roots..."
Washington Post --
"Workers pray at the King Faisal mosque in Cairo, the city where Yasser Arafat was born and where a memorial service was to be held for him Friday."
Associated Press --
"CAIRO, Egypt - Yasser Arafat's ties to Cairo go way back: It's the city where he was born, went to school and got his start in political activism. So it was fitting that his funeral should be held there on Friday, even though he was to be buried in the West Bank."
Seattle Times --
Aug. 29, 1929: Mohammed Abdel-Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini born in Cairo, Egypt.
'Nuff said. Cairo and not Jerusalem.
Sorry France -- your ass just got fact-checked by a bunch of bloggers in pyjamas...
Now, will you go away in a few months like Dan Ra
ther just did or will we have to come over and
save kick your butts again...
Posted by DaveH at November 26, 2004 9:05 PM