The apparent 'fall from grace' of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon brings to mind the sage observation of an anonymous philosopher who opined, " Men should build monuments to their heroes out of bricks so that they can later be dismantled and thrown at them."



How true!



One need only remember the euphoria with which Ariel Sharon's election was greeted by many in the national religious camp. For the hundreds of thousands of Jews who voted to bring him to power, it was inconceivable that he, a right-wing general and "best friend of the settlement movement", would ever reverse himself to such a degree as to reach the lowly level of ordering the transfer of Jews from their homes in the Jewish homeland, Eretz Yisrael.



As grim reality began to set in, with Sharon's repeated announcements that he has formulated a plan to 'disengage from Gaza', initial mass reaction was one of disbelief and shock. It is fitting here to quote the late, great Rabbi Meir Kahane, of blessed memory, who, having learned from bitter experience how some of his supposed "influential supporters" reneged on their commitments, used to say, "I'm shocked that you're shocked."



Let us now fast forward to the present day.



The die has been cast. Israel's Prime Ministers, both from right- and left-wing governments, have failed to grasp the unique role which the Almighty granted them as head of a Jewish State that came into being after two millennia of gentile persecution. In what is undoubtedly the worst desecration of G-d's holy name since the sin of the 'Golden Calf', Israel's 'leaders' continue to sacrifice more of the Promised Land for the worthless promises of gentile nations, rather than having faith in Hashem yitbarach and His promise to redeem Israel and the Jewish people.



It is Israel's 'leaders' who initiated and cultivated the involvement of the Quartet, led by United States, which is now pressuring Israel to make further suicidal concessions to Yasser Arafat and his murderous terrorists. It is they who failed to understand that the Middle East conflict between Jews and Arabs is not 'political', but rather a religious war launched by Islam against Israel, and, indeed, against all the world. And it is they who send our precious Jewish sons and daughters into battle and afterward continue to 'negotiate' a so-called 'peace process' with implacable Arab enemies, often ceding to them the very sacred soil on which our martyred soldiers fell.



In these dark days, as Jews are once again becoming the world's pariah, let us pray that a true leadership will emerge from among the heroic, believing Jews who have chosen to reside in Israeli settlements, and serve G-d and our country in the IDF Hesder units. They are truly the hope for the future.



As the wisdom of Mishlei teaches: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."