There was a famous Jewish philosopher named Philo Judaeus, with whom most Jews are not familiar. We are not familiar with him for two reasons: 1) most of us don't know a lot about philosophy; and 2) he was a Hellenist Jew and, because of that, considered a traitor to his people. I was not aware of Philo Judaeus until recently, when I was searching the Internet in an attempt to understand what Ariel Sharon might mean when he calls himself and his new party "centrist".
Most people, when they think of the term "centrist", might think of the dictionary definition. Here's an example of that definition, from http://www.wordnet.Princeton.edu:
centrist: (n) middle-of-the-roader, moderate, moderationist (a person who takes a position in the political center); (adj) centrist, middle-of-the-road (supporting or pursuing a course of action that is neither liberal nor conservative).
Considering Sharon's disengagement activity, acquiescence to terrorism, anti-religious bigotry and lack of moral character, I would not consider him, or any of those following him, as "centrist" in the traditional sense. So, when one of my friends e-mailed me to ask, "How is Sharon centrist?" I was baffled.
I searched the Internet for definitions of "center" or "centrist" that would explain Sharon's use of the term. It was then that I came upon Philo Judaeus and his interesting take on the concept of "center". His definition comes as he attempts a scientific and logical apology for the seven branches of the holy Menorah. I cannot claim to be a Philo Judaeus scholar by any means, but in this explanation, it appears as if Philo Judaeus switches the object of Jewish worship from G-d to the sun. (How convenient for Philo - Penn and Teller couldn't have pulled off such a magnificent sleight-of-hand. He needs to satisfy the Greek authorities that Jews aren't really that bad, so that he can continue to live, study and teach in luxury in Alexandria. Therefore, he convinces them that Jews and pagans aren't really that different - after all, we both worship the sun, don't we?) Philo Judaeus writes:
This much alone we must remind our readers of at this moment, that the sacred candlestick and the seven lights upon it are an imitation of the wandering of the seven planets through the heavens. How so? someone will say. Because, we will reply, in the same manner as the lights, so also does every one of the planets shed its rays. They therefore, being more brilliant, do transmit more brilliant beams to the earth, and brilliant beyond them all is he who is the center one of the seven, the sun. And I call him the center, not merely because he has the central position, as some have thought, but also because he has on many other accounts a right to be ministered unto and attended by the others accompanying him as body-guards on each side, by reason of his dignity and his magnitude, and the great benefits which he pours upon all earthly things.(http://thriceholy.net/Texts/Heir.html)
It was after I read Philo Judaeus that I started to realize Sharon's definition of "centrist" has more to do with him thinking he is the center of all things than it has to do with being moderate - or modest. At least Philo Judaeus substitutes the sun for G-d in his "centrist" model; Sharon shamelessly places himself at the center of the universe.
Strangely enough, I began to realize other similarities between the two men. Philo Judaeus supported the Roman Empire and its rule over Jewish lands, politely requesting that the Jews should be able to remove statues of Caligula from their synagogues because they had earned that right as loyal subjects of the Emperor. Sharon, likewise, supports the rule of the Quartet over Israel's affairs, and politely requests permission to keep a few, small settlements and holy sites because we have been such loyal friends and allies. Rather than fighting to protect Jewish lands and properties, these men support the rule of strangers over Israel, and actually ask permission of strangers for Jews to practice Judaism in Israel. Contrast Philo Judeaus and Sharon's positions to that of the Maccabees; the difference is clear.
It was not Hellenist apologists who rededicated the holy Temple then, and it was not "peacemakers" who stood on top of the Temple Mount in victory in 1967 and raised the flag of Israel. But it was the Hellenist Jews who lead the way to the Diaspora, and it was the "peacemakers" who gave our holy Temple Mount to Arabs. There have always been Jews who care more for themselves than G-d, and Jews who attempt to excuse their behavior in the name of philosophy or politics, but those Jews have never made the world better and they have never restored Israel's holiest places to her people - such miracles are only earned by those with a strength of character, a love of Israel, and a fear of G-d that is beyond and above those who would place themselves or others at the center.
We deserve better. We don't need a "centrist" government. We don't need a government with Sharon at its center; we need a government with G-d at its center.