Any parent who has read their child nursery rhymes knows that many have a deeper meaning, a sadness that all too often reflects the negative rather than the positive we wish to give our children. As parents, as Israelis, we must search for a way to examine and accept the negative in our society, and to fight to turn it around so that ultimately what shines through is what is proper, what is right, what is positive.
As I listened to predictions that Ariel Sharon might fail to muster support for his latest political payoff scheme to reward his Likud favorites and thereby choose to call for early elections, the words of one nursery rhythm flowed into my thoughts:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Once, Sharon was the great leader of the right-wing, the father of the settlement movement, a hero and great general. With Menachem Begin, he is recognized as one of the founders of the Likud party. And yet, after a lifetime of serving this country, there he sits upon the wall, so far removed from everyday Israelis. He is oblivious to the growing poverty, the increased violence among the youth. He is unconcerned about the people he made homeless, uncaring about the corruption that plagues his government.
Far below him, Israelis suffer. Divided as never before, we are trying to find a way back to unity. Many of our soldiers are broken and seeking counseling to understand and come to terms with what they were ordered to do to their fellow Jews. Tens of thousands of youth can no longer look upon soldiers and police with pride, some even spit on the ground when passing the dreaded black-uniformed Yasmatim brigades. We are angry and disillusioned by the continued mistreatment of the Gush refugees - all while Ariel Sharon sits upon the wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
The fall began when he asked for, and then ignored, a referendum of his own party membership. It continued to spiral down when he asked for, and then ignored, the opinion of his party's Central Committee. His fall gained speed when he sent the army in to surround Jews in Kfar Maimon with barbed wire, and when he sent security forces dressed in black to take a leading role in the expulsion of Jews from their homes. Each time he manipulates the Cabinet by firing ministers that disagree with him in order to achieve a majority, or awards Cabinet appointments based on politics rather than qualification, the fall becomes more apparent.
And all the king's horses
And all the king's men
These are the members of the IDF and the police who swore an allegiance to protect the people of Israel, and then were ordered to lay siege to Israeli towns. These are the men and women forced to drag and carry young Israelis out of synagogues and who drove bulldozers into Jewish homes.
Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty
Back together again.
And in the end, despite expelling Jews from Gaza and ramming the disengagement through, all their efforts will be for nothing. Ariel Sharon will likely fall, with the help of Likud and Shinui. He will fall with the blessings of those on the left and those on the right. He will return to his Sycamore Ranch, his legacy one that led to division and not unity, remembered for the Jewish settlements he destroyed, not those he founded. Ariel Sharon will be remembered for the synagogues he didn't save, the hungry he didn't feed, the unemployed he didn't take care of, and for the refugees he expelled and abandoned. Having destroyed so much, in the end, it will be his legacy that cannot be put back together again.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
Let's hope.
But then, I thought, even if Sharon does fall, even if we are finally rid of his corruption and his failed leadership, what positive message can we bring to our children, to our nation. Our sense of democracy has been seriously eroded and so we must restore faith in our government by electing new leaders committed to a united Israel. Faith in the army as the protectors of Israel has been damaged and so the army must engage in discussions to bring the youth back.
Our children must learn to trust again, to believe again, and to want to be one again. Maybe after the fall, we can do right by the people of Gush Katif and northern Samaria. Whether you agree with the Disengagement Plan or not, we, as a nation, took them from their homes. They must receive humane and decent compensation, and real solutions to their homeless state, not continued efforts to destroy their community spirit. With the retirement of Ariel Sharon, as both a symbol and a guiding force of what has plagued Israeli society, we have the opportunity to end one long night and move forward. And so, with hope, I thought of another nursery rhyme:
As I listened to predictions that Ariel Sharon might fail to muster support for his latest political payoff scheme to reward his Likud favorites and thereby choose to call for early elections, the words of one nursery rhythm flowed into my thoughts:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wallWhatever the outcome of Monday's political maneuverings - whether Sharon falls now or in the near future, or ultimately survives the political battlefield to the next scheduled election date - his unmistakable similarity to Humpty Dumpty is hard to ignore.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
And all the king's horses
And all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty
Back together again.
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Once, Sharon was the great leader of the right-wing, the father of the settlement movement, a hero and great general. With Menachem Begin, he is recognized as one of the founders of the Likud party. And yet, after a lifetime of serving this country, there he sits upon the wall, so far removed from everyday Israelis. He is oblivious to the growing poverty, the increased violence among the youth. He is unconcerned about the people he made homeless, uncaring about the corruption that plagues his government.
Far below him, Israelis suffer. Divided as never before, we are trying to find a way back to unity. Many of our soldiers are broken and seeking counseling to understand and come to terms with what they were ordered to do to their fellow Jews. Tens of thousands of youth can no longer look upon soldiers and police with pride, some even spit on the ground when passing the dreaded black-uniformed Yasmatim brigades. We are angry and disillusioned by the continued mistreatment of the Gush refugees - all while Ariel Sharon sits upon the wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
The fall began when he asked for, and then ignored, a referendum of his own party membership. It continued to spiral down when he asked for, and then ignored, the opinion of his party's Central Committee. His fall gained speed when he sent the army in to surround Jews in Kfar Maimon with barbed wire, and when he sent security forces dressed in black to take a leading role in the expulsion of Jews from their homes. Each time he manipulates the Cabinet by firing ministers that disagree with him in order to achieve a majority, or awards Cabinet appointments based on politics rather than qualification, the fall becomes more apparent.
And all the king's horses
And all the king's men
These are the members of the IDF and the police who swore an allegiance to protect the people of Israel, and then were ordered to lay siege to Israeli towns. These are the men and women forced to drag and carry young Israelis out of synagogues and who drove bulldozers into Jewish homes.
Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty
Back together again.
And in the end, despite expelling Jews from Gaza and ramming the disengagement through, all their efforts will be for nothing. Ariel Sharon will likely fall, with the help of Likud and Shinui. He will fall with the blessings of those on the left and those on the right. He will return to his Sycamore Ranch, his legacy one that led to division and not unity, remembered for the Jewish settlements he destroyed, not those he founded. Ariel Sharon will be remembered for the synagogues he didn't save, the hungry he didn't feed, the unemployed he didn't take care of, and for the refugees he expelled and abandoned. Having destroyed so much, in the end, it will be his legacy that cannot be put back together again.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
Let's hope.
But then, I thought, even if Sharon does fall, even if we are finally rid of his corruption and his failed leadership, what positive message can we bring to our children, to our nation. Our sense of democracy has been seriously eroded and so we must restore faith in our government by electing new leaders committed to a united Israel. Faith in the army as the protectors of Israel has been damaged and so the army must engage in discussions to bring the youth back.
Our children must learn to trust again, to believe again, and to want to be one again. Maybe after the fall, we can do right by the people of Gush Katif and northern Samaria. Whether you agree with the Disengagement Plan or not, we, as a nation, took them from their homes. They must receive humane and decent compensation, and real solutions to their homeless state, not continued efforts to destroy their community spirit. With the retirement of Ariel Sharon, as both a symbol and a guiding force of what has plagued Israeli society, we have the opportunity to end one long night and move forward. And so, with hope, I thought of another nursery rhyme:
Good night, sleep tight,Let's hope.
Wake up bright
In the morning light
To do what's right
With all your might.
To do what's right, with all your might...