By Aryeh Savir
After eight years of a comatose state and after deterioration in his health this past month, Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon finally passed away on Shabbat, January 11th, 2014, at the age of 85. Hi adopted son, Roni Schayak made the announcement.
Ariel Sharon, also known as Arik, was born as Ariel Scheinermann, (February 26th 1928). He was an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister.
He was born in Kfar Malal, then in the British Mandate of Palestine, to a family of Belarusian Jews. His parents fled the pogroms associated with the Russian Civil War. In 1942, at the young age of 14, Sharon joined the Gadna, a paramilitary youth battalion, and later the Haganah, the military precursor to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Sharon was a commander in the Israeli Army from its inception in 1948. As a paratrooper and then an officer, he participated prominently in the 1948 War of Independence, becoming a platoon commander in the Alexandroni Brigade and participating in many battles. He was an instrumental figure in the creation of Unit 101 – a Special Forces unit, the Retribution Operations, the 1956 Suez War, the Six-Day War of 1967, the War of Attrition and the Yom-Kippur War of 1973. As Minister of Defense, he directed the 1982 Lebanon War.
During his military career, he was considered the greatest field commander in Israel’s history, and one of the country’s greatest ever military strategists. His career was characterized by insubordination, aggression and disobedience, but also brilliance as a commander. After his assault of the Sinai in the Six-Day War and his encirclement of the Egyptian Third Army in the Yom Kippur War, the Israeli public nicknamed him “The King of Israel” and “The Lion of G-d”.
After retiring from the army, Sharon joined the Likud party, and served in a number of ministerial posts in Likud-led governments in 1977–92 and 1996–99. He became the leader of the Likud in 2000, and served as Israel’s Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006.
In 1983 the commission established by the Israeli Government found that as Minister of Defense during the 1982 Lebanon War Sharon bore “personal responsibility” for the massacre by Lebanese militias of Palestinian civilians in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila, for his having disregarded the prospect of acts of bloodshed by the Phalangists against the population of the refugee camps, and not having prevented their entry. The Kahan Commission recommended Sharon’s removal as Defense Minister, and Sharon did resign after initially refusing to do so. After his dismissal from the Defense Ministry post, Sharon remained in successive governments as a Minister without Portfolio (1983–1984), Minister of Trade and Industry (1984–1990), and Minister of Housing Construction (1990–1992), Minister of National Infrastructure (1996–98), and Foreign Minister (1998–99). Sharon was elected Prime Minister in February 2001.
In the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Sharon championed construction of Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip. However, In May 2003, Sharon endorsed the Road Map for Peace put forth by the United States, European Union, and Russia. In 2004 – 05 Sharon orchestrated Israel’s unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip. Sharon’s plan was welcomed by both the Palestinian Authority and Israel’s left wing. However, it was greeted with opposition from within his own Likud party and from other right wing Israelis, on national security, military, and religious grounds. Between August 2005 16th – 30th, Sharon controversially expelled 9,480 Israelis from 21 communities in Gaza and four communities in Samaria.
Facing stiff opposite to this policy within the Likud, in November 2005 he left Likud to form the new Kadima party, dissolved parliament and went for elections. His stroke occurred a few months before the upcoming elections.
On 18 December 2005, Sharon suffered a mild stroke and was rushed to the hospital. Sharon reportedly wanted to leave the hospital the evening after his arrival but the hospital wanted him to stay another day. He was released from the hospital two days later. On 4 January 2006, in the evening before his catheterization, Sharon suffered a second, far more serious stroke. He has been in permanent vegetative state since. About a month ago doctors announced that his situation deteriorated seriously, and today he finally succumbed to his illness.
He is to be buried at Givat Hakalanot, on the family farm, beside his wife Lilly.
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Word of the death on Saturday, Jan. 11, of Israel’s former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at age 85 reached the Jewish world as it was observing Shabbat, muting its immediate reaction to his passing.
AJC, in New York, was among the first Jewish organizations to issue a statement. It said: “AJC mourns the death of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He was a man of towering strength, uncompromising commitment, steely determination, and creative vision. He was among the giants of Israel’s founding generation. Against all the odds, they established the democratic state, defended it against those who sought its destruction, and participated in its remarkable growth and development over the last nearly six decades. Sharon loved the land, both literally and figuratively. Never happier than when he was on his farm, he was a devoted son of the Jewish people who cherished the return to the land of their biblical roots. While he fully understood the importance of military strength and strategic acumen to ensure Israel’s security in a turbulent region, he also displayed a political pragmatism that surprised his external and domestic critics. His withdrawal of all Israeli settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005 was one telling example. Despite his earlier support of their presence, he concluded that Israel’s long-term security goals could best be met by their removal. In doing so, he changed Israel’s political map and, not for the first time, outmaneuvered his adversaries.
“And while he was long viewed as a ‘hard-liner” by his critics,” the AJC statement continued, “as prime minister he spoke of a two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians, a goal that tragically proved unachievable because of the Palestinian failure to seize Israel’s outstretched hand. He also devoted considerable attention, over many years, to relations with Jordan and developed close personal ties with its leaders, as he did with several other Arab rulers. AJC had many fruitful exchanges with Ariel Sharon, both in his capacity as prime minister and in his many previous government posts. On a personal level, he was always warm and welcoming. On a professional level, he was always engaged, passionate and focused on the challenges of the day. With his passing, a defining chapter in Israel’s history goes with him. We shall miss him. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his grieving family and to the nation to which he devoted his entire life.”
From Washington, D.C., meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry released this statement: “Ariel Sharon’s journey was Israel’s journey. The dream of Israel was the cause of his life, and he risked it all to live that dream. I remember reading about Arik in the papers when I was a young lawyer in Boston and marveling at his commitment to cause and country. I will never forget meeting with this big bear of a man when he became Prime Minister as he sought to bend the course of history toward peace, even as it meant testing the patience of his own longtime supporters and the limits of his own, lifelong convictions in the process. He was prepared to make tough decisions because he knew that his responsibility to his people was both to ensure their security and to give every chance to the hope that they could live in peace.
“During his years in politics, it is no secret that there were times the United States had differences with him. But whether you agreed or disagreed with his positions – and Arik was always crystal clear about where he stood – you admired the man who was determined to ensure the security and survival of the Jewish State. In his final years as Prime Minister, he surprised many in his pursuit of peace, and today, we all recognize, as he did, that Israel must be strong to make peace, and that peace will also make Israel stronger. We honor Arik’s legacy and those of Israel’s founding generation by working to achieve that goal.
“Arik is finally at rest, and all of us in the United States pray along with his sons, Gilad and Omri, the Sharon family, and all the people of Israel,” Kerry’s statement continued. “Our nation shares your loss and honors Ariel Sharon’s memory.”
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) said: ““Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had a dream of peace in the Middle East, and he lived every day trying to realize it. He was a giant as a leader of Israel, a skilled warrior in battle and a valued friend of our nation. The United States and Israel are stronger partners in peace because of his efforts, and his loss is a great one. Our nation mourns his passing and joins Israel in honoring his tremendous legacy of independence, strength and peace. My thoughts are with his family and the Jewish people of Israel who he devoted his life to serving.”
There were also these additional reactions:
Jewish Council for Public Affairs: “Ariel Sharon was a leader from the founders’ generation who dedicated his life to the security of Israel,” said JCPA President Rabbi Steve Gutow. “His career in the military was marked by major achievements, most importantly turning the tide of battle in the Sinai against Egypt during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. ”
“Ariel Sharon had a distinctive capacity to think strategically and to adjust his course based on changing circumstances,” said JCPA Chair Larry Gold. “Once a fierce advocate for Jewish settlement activity in territories captured during the 1967 Six-Day War, he led the unilateral disengagement from Gaza in 2005, which resulted in the uprooting of some 10,000 Israeli citizens. By taking such a bold initiative, he demonstrated an understanding, embraced by many other Israeli leaders across the political spectrum, that the Jewish state’s long term security ultimately depends on reaching peace with the Palestinians based on territorial compromise. We mourn Ariel Sharon’s passing together with his family and the people of Israel.”
Americans for Peace Now: APN’s President and CEO Debra DeLee said: “Israelis today are saying farewell to a bold leader who toward the end of his political career was transformed from a staunch hawk who initiated war and provocative belligerent actions to a leader who recognized that Israel’s strategic interests lie in an agreement with the Palestinians. In 2005, shortly before he fell into an eight-year coma, Sharon said: ‘He who had seen the horrifying toll of war, has vowed to save the children of today and of tomorrow from the next war.’ As the sister organization of Israel’s peace movement, Peace Now, we can only hope that Sharon’s pledge would serve as inspiration for the current and future leaders of Israel.”
Republican Jewish Coalition: RJC’s Chairman David Flaum said: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Ariel Sharon. He was a great warrior who fought wholeheartedly for Israel’s existence, security, and well-being from the very beginning of the State of Israel. He was willing to take risks and to lead from the front – on the battlefield and at the negotiating table. In 1999, the RJC had the privilege of taking four U.S. governors to Israel; one of them was then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush. Then-Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon took the governors on a helicopter tour of Israel that opened their eyes to the size of Israel, the proximity of her enemies, and the dangers she faces on all sides. That ride was also the beginning of a friendship between Bush and Sharon, two men who would soon become the elected leaders of their respective countries. This trip formed a strong bond between these leaders and fostered an historic strengthening of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Ariel Sharon’s strength and insight have been sorely missed in the years since his devastating stroke. We join with the people of Israel in mourning the loss of one of the true giants of Israel.”
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Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations: Robert G. Sugarman, Chairman, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman, said, “The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations deeply mourns the passing of former Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, with whom the Conference enjoyed a decades-long close relationship. Prime Minister Sharon in all of his positions never missed an opportunity to meet with the Conference and address us, and often took us on tours to understand better the defense and security needs and the strategic issues confronting Israel. There were few in Israel’s history who contributed so much to the State, who demonstrated courage and bravery as well as keen insight and incisive thinking. Prime Minister Sharon always went out of his way to discuss and take into consideration the views of the diaspora community and valued his role not only as Prime Minister of Israel but also as a leader of the Jewish people. He served his country and his people and will be remembered forever in the annals of those who helped recreate the Jewish State of Israel. We extend our condolences to his family and to the people of Israel.”
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Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA): “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Ariel (Arik) Sharon at the age of 85, the pro-American former Israeli prime minister, a larger-than-life figure who as a soldier, politician and statesman was daring, dogged and indefatigable in battle and in peace on behalf of security of the State of Israel. Unfortunately, a stroke struck him down in 2006 at the height of his political power. As prime minister in 2001-2006, he forged a particularly close relationship with U.S. President George W. Bush that served American and Israeli interests. Favored by Israel’s founding premier, David Ben-Gurion, and a colleague of current prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sharon’s long life and career spanned the whole history of the State of Israel, and he engaged in some capacity in virtually all the Jewish state’s major efforts in war and peace since even before its founding. To cite just a few of his accomplishments: as a military commander, he helped turned the tide of the Yom Kippur War; as a minister of housing, he helped absorb almost one million Soviet Jews; and as prime minister, he put down the wave of Palestinian terror known as the Second Intifada.Brilliant, serious and often prescient, but sometimes overcome by significant lapses of judgment, Sharon did not shirk challenges, risks or controversy but with creativity, agility and great fortitude he confronted them head on to achieve personal and national aims. He realized immense triumphs as well as large setbacks, befitting a man of his stature who sought to shape events and achieve great things. May the United States and Israel honor his memory by ever strengthening their close bilateral ties and be daring in the pursuit of security for both nations.”
Preceding combines a report from Tazpit News Agency with statements and reports reaching San Diego Jewish World
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