Ariel Sharon?s trouncing of Binyamin Netanyahu in the Likud primaries has reinforced the myth of his popularity. Actually, he wins by default. He wins because he has no real opposition. Bibi is not trusted, and besides Bibi, Sharon faces no one.
Yes, people register strong approval of Sharon. But when it comes to particulars, they have no confidence in his ability to make Israel safe against Arab terror. Here?s proof:
A Dahaf poll of 9 August 2002 reports the following:
Asked, ?Is Ariel Sharon a reliable prime minister?? - 63% of Israelis say ?Yes.? Asked, ?Do you count on Sharon to successfully lead the nation?? - 57% say ?Yes.? Asked, ?What grade do you give to the performance of Sharon as prime minister?? ? 63% say ?Good.?
Yet, when asked, ?Does Sharon have a diplomatic program?? -- only 36% say ?Yes,? while 55% say ?No.? And when asked ?Does the Sharon Government know how to wipe out terrorism?? ? only 36% say ?Yes,? while 60% say ?No.? Finally, confronted by the question, ?Since the establishment of the Sharon Government, who has been winning the struggle?? - 30% say ?Israel,? 33% say ?the Palestinians,? while 33% say ?Neither.?
Surely, one may conclude from the answers to these last three questions that (1) Sharon is not a reliable prime minister; (2) he can?t be counted upon to successfully lead the nation; and (3) his performance as prime minister is bad. To drive home the point, when asked, ?Will the frequency of terror attacks change in the near future?? ? 67% say it will ?increase.? And when asked, ?Do you fear being hurt in a terror attack?? ? 77% say ?Yes.?
What can explain these paradoxical results? How can the same people have such a positive view of Sharon as a prime minister and yet have such a negative assessment of his record on the all-important issue of Arab terrorism? How can they grade his performance as prime minister as ?good? and yet anticipate an increase in terror attacks?
Perhaps it is because most Israelis believe that Arab terrorism is inevitable, and that they know of no one who can do better than Sharon in preventing it. Probing deeper, however, their pessimism regarding Arab terror, and therefore, their positive view of Sharon, can be explained as the result of many years of brain washing. For the public has, in fact, been indoctrinated to believe that there is no military solution to the terrorist problem. Sharon himself has foisted this myth.
More than 600 Jews were murdered during the first 22 months of his premiership. That he has the support of Israel?s leftist media goes a long way toward explaining his undeserved popularity. One looks in vain for any criticism of his refusal to pursue a policy of zero tolerance for Arab terrorism. The existence of a government of national unity (until recently) has stifled criticism of such a policy. The death of outrage is the consequence of a people conditioned to being murdered on the one hand, and not having any political redress of grievances on the other ? since Knesset members are not individually accountable to the voters in constituency elections.
As for the economy, Sharon has been a disaster. He shirks his responsibility by attributing Israel?s economic woes to the security problem, which he has decided is insoluble. Yes, he?s worried about what his boss, President Bush will say. That?s to be expected of a former military officer. You see, it?s like this: an officer is always worried about what the ranking officer above him may think. As he climbs from one rank to another, he becomes conditioned to worrying about what the officer above him may think. Finally, he becomes a general, and he worriers about what the Chief of Staff may think. And of course, the Chief of Staff worries about what the Defense Minister may think. You see the pattern of looking above. Finally, he becomes prime minister, and he is so conditioned to worrying about what the guy above him may think that he continues to look for someone above him, and, lo and behold, it turns out to be the President of the United States.
The moral of the story should be obvious. Yamin Israel proposes that there be at least a five year lapse before any military officer becomes eligible for public office. Had this been the case, we would not be suffering from the ?Sharon myth? today.
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Professor Eidelberg is the President of the Yamin Israel movement.
Yes, people register strong approval of Sharon. But when it comes to particulars, they have no confidence in his ability to make Israel safe against Arab terror. Here?s proof:
A Dahaf poll of 9 August 2002 reports the following:
Asked, ?Is Ariel Sharon a reliable prime minister?? - 63% of Israelis say ?Yes.? Asked, ?Do you count on Sharon to successfully lead the nation?? - 57% say ?Yes.? Asked, ?What grade do you give to the performance of Sharon as prime minister?? ? 63% say ?Good.?
Yet, when asked, ?Does Sharon have a diplomatic program?? -- only 36% say ?Yes,? while 55% say ?No.? And when asked ?Does the Sharon Government know how to wipe out terrorism?? ? only 36% say ?Yes,? while 60% say ?No.? Finally, confronted by the question, ?Since the establishment of the Sharon Government, who has been winning the struggle?? - 30% say ?Israel,? 33% say ?the Palestinians,? while 33% say ?Neither.?
Surely, one may conclude from the answers to these last three questions that (1) Sharon is not a reliable prime minister; (2) he can?t be counted upon to successfully lead the nation; and (3) his performance as prime minister is bad. To drive home the point, when asked, ?Will the frequency of terror attacks change in the near future?? ? 67% say it will ?increase.? And when asked, ?Do you fear being hurt in a terror attack?? ? 77% say ?Yes.?
What can explain these paradoxical results? How can the same people have such a positive view of Sharon as a prime minister and yet have such a negative assessment of his record on the all-important issue of Arab terrorism? How can they grade his performance as prime minister as ?good? and yet anticipate an increase in terror attacks?
Perhaps it is because most Israelis believe that Arab terrorism is inevitable, and that they know of no one who can do better than Sharon in preventing it. Probing deeper, however, their pessimism regarding Arab terror, and therefore, their positive view of Sharon, can be explained as the result of many years of brain washing. For the public has, in fact, been indoctrinated to believe that there is no military solution to the terrorist problem. Sharon himself has foisted this myth.
More than 600 Jews were murdered during the first 22 months of his premiership. That he has the support of Israel?s leftist media goes a long way toward explaining his undeserved popularity. One looks in vain for any criticism of his refusal to pursue a policy of zero tolerance for Arab terrorism. The existence of a government of national unity (until recently) has stifled criticism of such a policy. The death of outrage is the consequence of a people conditioned to being murdered on the one hand, and not having any political redress of grievances on the other ? since Knesset members are not individually accountable to the voters in constituency elections.
As for the economy, Sharon has been a disaster. He shirks his responsibility by attributing Israel?s economic woes to the security problem, which he has decided is insoluble. Yes, he?s worried about what his boss, President Bush will say. That?s to be expected of a former military officer. You see, it?s like this: an officer is always worried about what the ranking officer above him may think. As he climbs from one rank to another, he becomes conditioned to worrying about what the officer above him may think. Finally, he becomes a general, and he worriers about what the Chief of Staff may think. And of course, the Chief of Staff worries about what the Defense Minister may think. You see the pattern of looking above. Finally, he becomes prime minister, and he is so conditioned to worrying about what the guy above him may think that he continues to look for someone above him, and, lo and behold, it turns out to be the President of the United States.
The moral of the story should be obvious. Yamin Israel proposes that there be at least a five year lapse before any military officer becomes eligible for public office. Had this been the case, we would not be suffering from the ?Sharon myth? today.
--------------------------------------------------------
Professor Eidelberg is the President of the Yamin Israel movement.