Ariel Sharon
I express my
condolences on the passing of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Many experts are reviewing his life and his
career as a general and politician. He was certainly a complicated man. As a
general he was definitely a hero in Israel’s wars. He was an iconic figure in
the minds and culture of Israeli society. His political life was paradoxical.
He was immersed in controversy for sending troops into Lebanon which ultimately
brought down the Begin government. He was accused by the Israeli Kahan commission when he was
defense minister in the Begin government of knowingly not preventing the
massacre of Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shitilla refugee camps by
Christian Lebanese philangists militias during Israel’s occupation of Southern
Lebanon back in the 80s. Then he achieved
the miraculous political comeback to be Israel’s prime minister. In that
position he was also embroiled in controversy by visiting the Temple Mount
which some claim triggered the 2nd Palestinian Intifada. Yet, at the
same time he was the man who withdrew Israeli settlers from Gaza hoping that
such a politically explosive decision would lead to peace. We will never know
if that move would have enabled him to begin further negotiations to end the
conflict with the Palestinians. There is
a school of thought which asks, could a man like Sharon who had the stature and
strength to make the bold decisions have led Israel to final negotiations? In other words this position argues that only
a man like Sharon could have pulled off such a peace negotiation without fear
of what a coalition government would do or say. Unfortunately we will never
know the answer to this question.
Ariel Sharon
represents a symbol of Jewish identity in the modern age. He belongs to a
generation of warrior politicians who fought for the Zionist ideology of a free
Jewish people and who changed the way the world and Jews themselves thought
about the image of the Jew. An Israeli member of the congregation told me today
that he served in one of Sharon’s units. “He was tough and fearless.” Once again Sharon showed that Jews possessed
the strength and fortitude to defend Israel and that Jews were no longer going
to be history’s perennial victims. He demonstrated that he could get the job
done and that through force he would instill respect and fear in the hearts of
Israel’s adversaries. Living in America and seeing through the lens of history,
it is hard for young American Jews to understand Sharon in a broader cultural
context. Jews today must be proficient at being warriors, politicians and
scholars. It is all part of the makeup of Israeli identity which has impacted
how Jews throughout the world see themselves.
The question
is whether his model of warrior statesman fits into today’s model of the
Israeli leader? I’ll leave the answer to that question to experts in the area.
Yet, in reference to Jewish identity there is something that is both inspiring
and frightening about him because he was capable of carrying out brutal military
missions and politically controversial and risky tactics as well as pursuing
the noblest goals of peace and security for Israel. Ariel Sharon did what was
necessary to preserve the state and the Jewish people. Jews throughout the
world saw in him the fighting spirit that they wish they had to protect them
and fight for them in lands where Jews did not enjoy the fruits of peace and
freedom in their host countries.
As of now I
pray that his soul rests in peace. And if this warrior-political leader held in
his heart the vision for making peace with Israel’s neighbors before his
untimely and debilitating stroke then I pray that his hope for peace will be
fulfilled soon.
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