It takes a rude man to make a civil society. New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani created a diplomatic contretemps late last month when he threw Yasser Arafat out of a concert the mayor was hosting to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. For days, Giuliani had been saying that Arafat and Fidel Castro were not welcome at the event. But just before going on stage at Avery Fisher Hall to make his remarks, the mayor was told that the PLO delegation had been seated two boxes down from his chief of staff, Randy Mastro.
In a small backstage room, Giuliani sketched out a few opti ons with his aides and decided within seconds to boot Arafat. U.N. official Gillian Sorensen (wife of Ted) protested it would be awfully embarrassing. ” Enough!” Giuliani snapped when she started repeating herself. He had already dispatched Mastro to tell Arafat to leave. The PLO leader sat silently as Mastro told him he was not welcome, but a PLO aide was incredulous. “Do you know who you are talking to?” he asked. Several minutes later the PLO delegation decamped.
