It is amazing, even eerie, how Trump seems to be becoming similar to discredited Israeli premier Ariel Sharon, and how fast this is happening to him.
Poor Sharon was a revered war hero, and for good reason. He was worshipped by those who knew him on the battlefield, far more than Rabin was. But let us be frank - it is hard to be a good Israeli and a good Jew, to remain true to a very difficult path. Ariel Sharon was hounded by progressives for decades until eventually, he simply buckled. He was then ousted forever from his place of honor in the hearts of his own people -- he utterly disillusioned patriotic Israelis.
Sharon’s fatal melt-down was due to his folly in clinging to sinister notions peddled, naively or otherwise, by his own sons, Omri and Gilad. Israelis who revered the war hero Sharon felt that his sons’ values and character left something to be desired. Bizarre pipe-dreams were concocted by Sharon’s sons (by the “Farm Forum”), percolated through Sharon and morphed into one of the most outlandish diplomatic plans ever executed - with American Republican blessing - namely the “disengagement plan”. This was the godfather of the Simchat Torah massacre -- and of the deliberate blitzkrieg of worldwide antisemitism that world Jewry is experiencing even now, with no end in sight.
That, too, seems to be happening with Trump. Originally, outspoken Trump literally took the world by storm. He was a breath of fresh air in the stultified halls of Washington, which had become dangerously progressive-ized and almost brought the world’s leading superpower to its knees. The United States was literally teetering on the edge of an abyss and Trump’s courage in recognizing this and taking it on, were of tremendous historical importance (similar to Sharon’s brilliant military and Zionist achievements, in his youth). Trump saved an erstwhile wonderful country from imploding morally, politically, demographically, historically, financially and militarily. By doing so he saved the entire free world.
But now -- and it pains me to say this - it looks as though Trump himself is imploding, heading straight down the exact same path that led to the demise of Sharon. Sharon’s poor judgement in adopting his sons’ foolish policies brought Israel down with him to no small extent. So too, Trump’s serious blunder - in adopting his son-in-law’s ideas - will send the United States crashing down with him, if the blunder matures into an actual catastrophe when Trump does not manage to abandon it fast enough.
A single look at the Kushner-inspired 21-point plan leaves the clear impression that Trump has already been Sharonized, or deTrumpified by well-meaning son-in-law JJared Kushner. First and foremost, because Kushner - and Trump - even think that a piece of paper with “Plan” written on it, is going to make any difference whatsoever in the brutal Middle East.
How sad it is that Trump really thinks that a MS-Word document, authored under Kushner auspices, can - merely by including the empty word “demilitarization” - magically vanquish the labyrinth of dark tunnels of death in Gaza. Can an MS-Word take countless shadowy executioners lurking in these tunnels out of commission? The Hamas executioners (“nukhba”) have a calling in life - to enslave millions of Arabs and - through them, subjugate the region and the entire civilized world. Yet Kushner naively thinks such operatives are affected by fancy documents. And as a result, Trump really thinks, in child-like innocence legitimized by the unrealistic Kushner, that writing “Gaza will not pose a threat to its neighbors” will magically make this so, as opposed to - pardon the bluntness - shooting down rapists and child-murderers with a machine gun, which Kushner and Trump recoil from doing.
Thus, the biggest problem with the Kushner-inspired move which Trump has just unveiled, is that President Trump has - for the second time - descended to preferring the naive counsel of his Harvard-graduate son -in-law over the down-to-earth knowledge of seasoned Israeli warriors emerging from the battlefield of the struggle-to-the-death between civilization and something else. Trump’s key error then, is in following Harvard-educated Kushner, who is misguided enough to treat angels of death as diplomats in the first place. What a huge win for a pack of unscrupulous, bloodthirsty butchers! And what a huge defeat for our hard-won and painstakingly built civilization!
As an aside, it is very possible that the demise of Trump the First, and Sharon the First, both through their own family members, is no coincidence. We see that modern terrorism is incredible Machievellian. It is no coincidence that the elderly fall victims to scams (swindlers seek out the elderly deliberately). So too it is entirely possible for ISIS, Hamas and other infamous scammers to deliberately and unobtrusively manipulate a world leader into proposing a “21 point plan” that is good for them. And what better agent for achieving this than POTUS’s own family member -- who can have direct personal contact with Trump, every day at the dinner table?
Will the seasoned Trump manage to extricate himself from the bear-hug of a young son-in-law who is in his forties, namely at his peak? This is a very human question. Unfortunately, as people age, they become less able and less likely to maintain their independence vis a vis their younger and more energetic family members. That can be good --but it can be terrible instead when the younger generation's lack of actual experience and its possible arrogance call the shots. That can do a great deal of harm to an entire family. And to an entire civilization.
Sharon’s sons, and 7 October, proved that. But does Trump see that?
Susie Dym is a spokesperson for Mattot Arim, an Israeli NGO, working toward peace-for-peace since 1992.