The ISA director is against Sharon’s plans, with good reason. IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon opposes unilateral disengagement. Now both of them will not be around for the suggested implementation date. Since Ya’alon has not been extended to a fourth year of duty, as is customary in Israel, he has probably been relieved by the decision in more ways than one.
There are those who insist that Sharon must know things we ordinary people are not privy to. In Hebrew we say “d’varim sheroim mikan lo roim misham” (“things seen here are not always seen from there”). If Sharon succeeds in taming the bull with pacifism, he will defy history and his opponents will be forced to applaud him. Many have tried Sharon’s way, but to the best of my memory none have succeeded. On the other hand, advocates of strength – Churchill, Reagan, Begin – have overcome great odds.
Just when there are American rumblings against Syria, Iran and North Korea, why should Israel make moves to undermine that tactic of confrontation through strength? A leader without an ideology drags his electorate to an abyss for no reason other than personal enrichment. Sharon’s refusal to hold a referendum on his disengagement plan reeks of conspiracy. His opposition to it violates the very democracy he claims to champion. If he enjoys mass support, as he maintains, why not demonstrate it in a way that would be convincing to the vast majority of settlers?
I don’t know why and when the turnabout in this ardent Zionist occurred, and while it’s painful to think of Sharon as an opportunist, from here (mikan) it certainly looks that way. But if things appear bleak right now thanks to Sharon’s short-term plans, those of us who believe in Israel’s Divinely appointed destiny are comforted with the knowledge that the Author of that destiny has far different long-term plans.