Abu Mazen in Munich

Contributing editor Michael Young explores allegations that Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen financed the 1972 Munich Olympic takeover. He also ponders whether, if true, such allegations will make much difference. "Palestinian-Israeli peace was always going to be built on short memories all around," he writes in Slate. "Still, it does show what a preposterous game the issue of Palestinian representation has become, with some officials issued a more wholesome past to make them palatable to non-Palestinians, while others, like Arafat, stay tainted."