"The hills of Samaria, the mountains of Judea and the sands of the Katif region and Netzarim are not only [our] historical right, but [our] true home?." -- Ariel Sharon, eulogy for Ofra Felix, January 6, 1995.
In his Latrun address of early 2003, in which he supported the establishment of a Palestinian state, Ariel Sharon violated the Likud platform and initiated a process of separation between himself and his constituents.
The Likud platform in the elections for the sixteenth Knesset (January 28, 2003) stipulates: "The State of Israel will not allow the establishment of an Arab Palestinian state west of the Jordan?" Sharon not only violated the platform with which he defeated the Left, headed by Amram Mitzna, but also set himself above his party and above the National Camp that elected him to his lofty office; thereby becoming a kind of dictator.
The Likud was astonished. There were some who claimed that his speech was only lip service, while others insisted it was an experiment, but those who knew the man said, "He's turned Left."
The sycophants surrounding him began to concoct an entire political theory. With the assistance of the committed media, they began to explain to the Jewish public how good it will be to have a Palestinian state next to us, on the soil of Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
We have not heard from anyone who remained loyal to the Likud platform or its ideology.
The snowball quickly gained momentum. By the end of April 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush came out with his Roadmap, a program that primarily calls for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state ? something that no one ever spoke about in the White House until the Latrun address.
The Roadmap, adopted by dictator Sharon despite protests by his Cabinet colleagues, was raised for discussion at the Likud convention a year ago and rejected by an overwhelming majority. But Sharon, like a true dictator who runs the country as though it were his own private estate, told delegates that he is attentive to them, but will continue to do as he sees fit. In simple language, he just said, "Too bad!"
Sharon, like a bulldozer whose brakes have failed, careening down a slippery slope, threatened that any Minister who does not accept the Roadmap will be dismissed. Those who consider remaining in power more attractive than ideology found some way to accept the plan.
The bulldozer is heading downhill, unmindful of and inattentive to anyone's feelings, including the outcry in Sharon's own camp.
At the Likud Central Committee meeting in January of this year, Sharon spoke of "painful concessions." Committee members responded with loud boos. The dictator aggressively responded: "I make the decisions and I carry them out!"
The committed media cheered the leader and even encouraged him: "Enough talk," wrote correspondent Sima Kadman (Yediot Achronot, January 6, 2004).
Instead of coming out against Sharon's non-democratic act, senior officials preferred concentrating on the ensuing disruption of what had been an orderly meeting. Instead of decrying the violator of democracy, instead of pointing out an obvious example of lying to the public and blatant deviation from the party platform, Minister of Education Limor Livnat preferred to criticize the broken-hearted who allowed themselves a cry of dissent. It was clear beyond a doubt that Ariel Sharon had separated himself from the Likud Central Committee.
"Mr. Security," who only recently declared that "Netzarim is the same as Tel Aviv," now speaks of transferring thousands of Jews from the Katif region, uprooted from their homes and homesteads, from the legacy of our ancestors. His loyal assistant Ehud Olmert, now out of the closet, proved that he only pretended to be a right-winger, when he is actually an extreme leftist.
The bulldozer is still hurtling downhill, with the media encouraging Sharon and his program, while holding him by the throat regarding the corruption cases pending against his family. Miraculously, when Sharon marches in the left lane, all the corruption affairs are cast aside. Even journalist Yoel Marcus of the newspaper for "thinking people" recommends that the Attorney General not make any hasty decisions, lest he disrupt political progress. Who would have believed that a democratic press would express such thoughts? But our country has long turned into a dictatorship, or in the best case a dem-autocracy.
Who would have believed that MK Dalia Itzik, whom some call "the Bigmouth", preferred to keep absolutely silent when State Attorney Edna Arbel's report was leaked. It turns out that "uprooting Jews takes precedence over democracy" and financial corruption is of no consequence when there's a possibility that the fondest wishes of the Left ? uprooting Jewish settlements in Judea, Samaria and Gaza ? have a chance of coming true.
Ariel Sharon planned the assault on the Katif region in cooperation with close advisors and other sycophants. In the United States, he presented his program, stood on the White House lawn to shake hands with a President fighting for his political life, exacted promises from him that aren't worth the paper they're written on and thought he could use them to induce his party to ratify this anti-Zionist program.
Sharon knew that he would have some difficulties with the Cabinet. he knew that he'd have to dismiss Ministers and destroy their political lives. That's why he invented the Likud referendum. His advisors apparently whispered to him that the "Indians" (a nickname for Likud voters coined by No. 1 son Omri) love him and will follow him no matter what he dishes out.
But here, the surprise of his life awaited him, despite the initial, flawed polls that predicted a resounding victory, despite the support of all the media, despite the scare tactics of "what will happen if we don't succeed in carrying the program through," despite spurious quotes from "U.S. Administration sources" and an incitement and smear campaign against "settlers," "Feiglins" and the "extreme right," Sharon was defeated badly in a decisive downfall that would lead the head of any democratic government to resign and go home.
But not Ariel Sharon. Like a round-bottomed doll, Sharon got up and recovered within hours, and audaciously announced: "I will continue the separation plan." Apparently, he has failed to realize that he is also separating from his party.
Like a raging bull ready to shatter anything that stands in his way, he announced that he will continue even though he was defeated in the referendum that he himself conceived, dismissing any Ministers who do not support him and seeking vengeance on residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza by uprooting settlements and outposts.
In his eulogy for Ofra Felix, killed in a terrorist ambush on January 6, 1995, Sharon said:
"The Government hopes that the settlers will lose their spirit and faith and leave of their own free will. I have known the mountain settlement leaders for over twenty years and I am certain that their spirit will remain strong and their faith will not be shattered. Governments will rise and fall, but the settlers will remain here forever and continue to establish marvelous towns and villages ?the hills of Samaria, the mountains of Judea and the sands of the Katif region and Netzarim are not only [our] historical right but [our] true home."
Ariel Sharon has now known those people for more than 30 years. They have not lost their spirit and never will. If Sharon does not realize that he is separating himself from the people, he should stop running for a moment, read his own writings, gather strength and encourage development and prosperity, rather than concentrating on the removal of settlements that will ultimately lead to a civil war.
In his Latrun address of early 2003, in which he supported the establishment of a Palestinian state, Ariel Sharon violated the Likud platform and initiated a process of separation between himself and his constituents.
The Likud platform in the elections for the sixteenth Knesset (January 28, 2003) stipulates: "The State of Israel will not allow the establishment of an Arab Palestinian state west of the Jordan?" Sharon not only violated the platform with which he defeated the Left, headed by Amram Mitzna, but also set himself above his party and above the National Camp that elected him to his lofty office; thereby becoming a kind of dictator.
The Likud was astonished. There were some who claimed that his speech was only lip service, while others insisted it was an experiment, but those who knew the man said, "He's turned Left."
The sycophants surrounding him began to concoct an entire political theory. With the assistance of the committed media, they began to explain to the Jewish public how good it will be to have a Palestinian state next to us, on the soil of Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
We have not heard from anyone who remained loyal to the Likud platform or its ideology.
The snowball quickly gained momentum. By the end of April 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush came out with his Roadmap, a program that primarily calls for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state ? something that no one ever spoke about in the White House until the Latrun address.
The Roadmap, adopted by dictator Sharon despite protests by his Cabinet colleagues, was raised for discussion at the Likud convention a year ago and rejected by an overwhelming majority. But Sharon, like a true dictator who runs the country as though it were his own private estate, told delegates that he is attentive to them, but will continue to do as he sees fit. In simple language, he just said, "Too bad!"
Sharon, like a bulldozer whose brakes have failed, careening down a slippery slope, threatened that any Minister who does not accept the Roadmap will be dismissed. Those who consider remaining in power more attractive than ideology found some way to accept the plan.
The bulldozer is heading downhill, unmindful of and inattentive to anyone's feelings, including the outcry in Sharon's own camp.
At the Likud Central Committee meeting in January of this year, Sharon spoke of "painful concessions." Committee members responded with loud boos. The dictator aggressively responded: "I make the decisions and I carry them out!"
The committed media cheered the leader and even encouraged him: "Enough talk," wrote correspondent Sima Kadman (Yediot Achronot, January 6, 2004).
Instead of coming out against Sharon's non-democratic act, senior officials preferred concentrating on the ensuing disruption of what had been an orderly meeting. Instead of decrying the violator of democracy, instead of pointing out an obvious example of lying to the public and blatant deviation from the party platform, Minister of Education Limor Livnat preferred to criticize the broken-hearted who allowed themselves a cry of dissent. It was clear beyond a doubt that Ariel Sharon had separated himself from the Likud Central Committee.
"Mr. Security," who only recently declared that "Netzarim is the same as Tel Aviv," now speaks of transferring thousands of Jews from the Katif region, uprooted from their homes and homesteads, from the legacy of our ancestors. His loyal assistant Ehud Olmert, now out of the closet, proved that he only pretended to be a right-winger, when he is actually an extreme leftist.
The bulldozer is still hurtling downhill, with the media encouraging Sharon and his program, while holding him by the throat regarding the corruption cases pending against his family. Miraculously, when Sharon marches in the left lane, all the corruption affairs are cast aside. Even journalist Yoel Marcus of the newspaper for "thinking people" recommends that the Attorney General not make any hasty decisions, lest he disrupt political progress. Who would have believed that a democratic press would express such thoughts? But our country has long turned into a dictatorship, or in the best case a dem-autocracy.
Who would have believed that MK Dalia Itzik, whom some call "the Bigmouth", preferred to keep absolutely silent when State Attorney Edna Arbel's report was leaked. It turns out that "uprooting Jews takes precedence over democracy" and financial corruption is of no consequence when there's a possibility that the fondest wishes of the Left ? uprooting Jewish settlements in Judea, Samaria and Gaza ? have a chance of coming true.
Ariel Sharon planned the assault on the Katif region in cooperation with close advisors and other sycophants. In the United States, he presented his program, stood on the White House lawn to shake hands with a President fighting for his political life, exacted promises from him that aren't worth the paper they're written on and thought he could use them to induce his party to ratify this anti-Zionist program.
Sharon knew that he would have some difficulties with the Cabinet. he knew that he'd have to dismiss Ministers and destroy their political lives. That's why he invented the Likud referendum. His advisors apparently whispered to him that the "Indians" (a nickname for Likud voters coined by No. 1 son Omri) love him and will follow him no matter what he dishes out.
But here, the surprise of his life awaited him, despite the initial, flawed polls that predicted a resounding victory, despite the support of all the media, despite the scare tactics of "what will happen if we don't succeed in carrying the program through," despite spurious quotes from "U.S. Administration sources" and an incitement and smear campaign against "settlers," "Feiglins" and the "extreme right," Sharon was defeated badly in a decisive downfall that would lead the head of any democratic government to resign and go home.
But not Ariel Sharon. Like a round-bottomed doll, Sharon got up and recovered within hours, and audaciously announced: "I will continue the separation plan." Apparently, he has failed to realize that he is also separating from his party.
Like a raging bull ready to shatter anything that stands in his way, he announced that he will continue even though he was defeated in the referendum that he himself conceived, dismissing any Ministers who do not support him and seeking vengeance on residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza by uprooting settlements and outposts.
In his eulogy for Ofra Felix, killed in a terrorist ambush on January 6, 1995, Sharon said:
"The Government hopes that the settlers will lose their spirit and faith and leave of their own free will. I have known the mountain settlement leaders for over twenty years and I am certain that their spirit will remain strong and their faith will not be shattered. Governments will rise and fall, but the settlers will remain here forever and continue to establish marvelous towns and villages ?the hills of Samaria, the mountains of Judea and the sands of the Katif region and Netzarim are not only [our] historical right but [our] true home."
Ariel Sharon has now known those people for more than 30 years. They have not lost their spirit and never will. If Sharon does not realize that he is separating himself from the people, he should stop running for a moment, read his own writings, gather strength and encourage development and prosperity, rather than concentrating on the removal of settlements that will ultimately lead to a civil war.