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NY Legislators Want Arafat Removed From Wax Museum
WASHINGTON, May 16 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - State legislators in New York are targeting the wax figure of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat for removal from Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in the city.
Seeking to oust Arafat from the museum's premises, New York state legislators, "outraged by Palestinian violence", have petitioned the governor saying they want Arafat's likeness removed from the museum's exhibits of famous and noteworthy people.
Fifty-seven members of the NY State Assembly, including speaker Sheldon Silver (D) and Minority Leader, John Faso (R), are leading the campaign.
Assemblyman Dov Hikind, an Orthodox Jew and Zionist activist (D), initiated the campaign. He said that he and fifty-five state legislators sent letters on May 10th to New York Governor George Pataki (R) and New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) asking that they intervene on behalf of the Empire State Development Corp. and the New York City Development Corp., which operate the property that houses the museum.
Pataki said, "I would certainly urge that a flattering portrayal of Yasser Arafat has no place in New York, in my view has no place anywhere."
"For the last seven months, Arafat has orchestrated a campaign of premeditated violence against Israeli citizens," stated Pataki.
"Arafat, alive and breathing, or with wax in his lungs, does not belong in any venue in New York. It is an affront to decent law-abiding citizens for Arafat to be welcome in any way, shape, or form - either symbolically or physically."
Hikind, who plans with other assembly members to demonstrate on Thursday against Arafat's likeness outside the museum, said, "If you put [Arafat] in a room with other terrorists, I would not have an objection."
Executive assistant Jonathan Greenspun said that the Governor "finds it offensive that a wax statue of Arafat stands within feet of true heroes like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln," stating that "a full review of all public funds will be conducted."
Giuliani's press office said that the letter had not arrived yet and announced that the mayor had no comment.
Janine Scarpello, the museum's general manager, said, "The decision to portray an individual is irrespective of any political or religious stance."
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