Yassir Arafat, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization and leader of the Palestine people for several decades, died yesterday at the age of 75.

There will be hundreds of different interpretations about his life and his legacy but to me, he was both a passionate leader for an oppressed ethnic group as well as a stubborn roadblock to peace and reconciliation. My hope is that his passing will mark a new chapter in the Israeli-Palestinean conflict -- one that will now lead to a peaceful solution for both sides.