It has been said in recent days that the Mayor of New York City prostituted himself to the Jewish community in his ejection of Palestinian Liberation Organization Chief Yasser Arafat from a social gathering of world leaders at Lincoln Center last Monday. The intimation is that he sold his office for a quick hit, a cheap thrill and great pay. Of course, who can blame him? The Jews control all the votes, and all the money, and the national media, so it obviously made a great deal of sense to pander to them.

We know that there is no good reason not to deal with Arafat, the international diplomat. And even if we were to have some political differences of opinion, that wouldn't preclude us from socializing with the man. Remember the principle of principles: diplomacy. When diplomacy fails, there's always more diplomacy. We must not let the nation be guided by any sort of moral compass, which of course is what Giuliani invoked, as if we were about to embark on another Crusade.

Get this line. Giuliani declared, "I think it's difficult for people to come to the conclusion nowadays that maybe somebody in public office would do something out of principle rather than whether you get so many votes here or so many votes there." Right. Sounds good, Rudy, but get real. Listen to the White House, which is still somewhat civilized. The New York Times quoted a senior Administration official as saying that the incident was "an embarrassment to everyone associated with diplomacy." At least someone had the courage to speak up.

As long as Clinton's in charge, we'll be all right. He's learned his Kissinger--realpolitik or no politik. Think about all the headaches we might have encountered in Bosnia had we let ourselves be drawn in by genocide. What would have happened in Somalia had we not pulled out when our boys started getting fired at? Just imagine what conflicts we could have had with China had we held human rights in higher esteem than Sino-American trade. Or if we had pushed the envelope with Russian President Boris Yeltsin on his advances in Chechnya.

We realize Israel's necessity in dealing with Yasser--all those pestering Palestinians on its border. Of course they can't just get rid of them, so let them have their own little state. Guise your gestures in robes of national autonomy. Rabin gets to look so magnanimous shaking Arafat's hand. And what photos with the White House in the background and at the Nobel Prize ceremony. The world is applauding. How can Giuliani even contest Yasser's preeminence?

"I would not invite Yasser Arafat to anything, anywhere, anytime, any place. I don't forget," the Mayor said. Forget what? That some Palestinian henchperson, of which Yasser wasn't even one, killed the American Jew Leon Klinghoffer on the cruise ship Achille Lauro a decade ago? Or that other Palestinians, even if they were sent by the organization over which he had full control, murdered the entire Israeli Olympic team at Munich in 1972?

That's the end of Giuliani's career. He must be the only public person left not aware that Yasser is a great guy. When Arafat came to speak at the Kennedy School's ARCO Forum, even President Rudenstine lauded his 20 year "loyalty to the Palestinian cause." Students, faculty and assorted bigwigs turned out in droves to hear him. Harvard was impressed with itself that evening that it could draw such a distinguished world leader. And rightly so--even the Boston Globe gave over half of its front page.

We have all been enlightened by Arafat's real politics. Terrorism works. It won't stain your permanent record. It will accord you respect for loyalty to a cause, any cause, in a world ruled by diplomatic men living in a more civilized moral vacuum. Now Yasser can be one of us. We should welcome his visit for he is a true diplomat. It seems that the Mayor mistook principle for policy. Let's not let that happen again.

Joshua A. Kaufman's column appears on alternate Mondays.