Museum Head Is Out After Arafat Clash

A month after he refused to escort Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat on a tour of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Walter Reich has been removed as director, museum officials said. Reich said in a statement that he will not seek to renew his three-year contract, which expires in June. Reich will “relinquish his duties” March 31, the museum announced. Senior officials at the museum said Reich’s departure has been under negotiation since last month, when the museum’s governing council and Reich clashed over the proposed Arafat visit. The museum admitted it had erred and invited Arafat to take a VIP tour. In the end, Arafat’s staff said he did not have time to visit the museum but left open the possibility of doing so on a future trip.