Silent But Deadly

The _Daily News_ “reports”:http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/r_m/index.html that Ahmad Jibril, founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, claims Yasser Arafat died of AIDS. Arafat’s 2004 death was indeed mysterious, and many Palestinians believed that Israel had poisoned him. But this AIDS accusation is a new one (although _Israel Today_ says there has long been speculation about Arafat’s sexual orientation). But, apparently,

There is no mention of AIDS in Arafat’s final medical records. Doctors who examined them in 2005 told The New York Times that the pattern of Arafat’s illness was inconsistent with that of a typical AIDS patient. But Ashraf al-Kurdi, Arafat’s personal physician, claimed in an Israeli newspaper that French doctors had told him Arafat had AIDS when he died. The physician, who said Arafat had tested HIV-negative three months earlier, suspected Arafat was infected with HIV to hide the poison that supposedly killed him.

It’s like a high school gossip chain, except with a horrible horrible disease and a homophobic culture, so… less fun.

What do you think?

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14 Responses

  1. david

    I thought it was common knowledge that Arafat died of AIDS. France is known for having very strict confidentiality laws for their hospitals/doctors, and Arafat’s massive weight loss before he died is quite consistent with symptoms of AIDS. At the time t

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  2. jewdar
    jewdar

    It was common knowledge that Arafat was rumored to have died of AIDS.

    Massive weight loss is common before many forms of death–indeed, pretty much any system failure that leads to a slow death (i.e., as opposed to something quick, like a heart attac

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  3. kbookatz

    This all makes sense. I now recall that cameo Arafat made in Harmony Korine’s mid-90’s drama, “Kids”.

    Reply
  4. AlexadraZoe

    Dear Dr. Katz,
    Your humor has brought so much to so many people. I feel that I was raised by Dr. Katz, when I wasn’t in my regular therapy, thank you so much for all of those great years.
    Alexandra Bevin Cohen

    Reply

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