At home and abroad, a champion of the Jewish people
On a visit to Jerusalem last week, I was shocked to hear the news of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s massive hemorrhage. I felt a collective feeling of loss of a founding father of Israel, who most Israelis felt could navigate the Jewish state out of harm’s way. Whether on the Left or the Right, most Israelis admired his steadfast leadership despite the many obstacles he faced. As prime minister he was a critical unifying force for virtually all of the people of Israel.
This was remarkably different from the divisiveness which Sharon engendered five years earlier upon assuming office. After all, he was the architect of the failed Lebanon policy and was forced to resign as defense minister because of his indirect responsibility for the Sabra and Shatila massacres. He was not well regarded by much of American Jewry because he implemented the settlement policy in the West Bank and Gaza.
But he proved most of his critics wrong. During his remarkable administration, he conducted a highly successful war on terrorism, resulting in a 90 percent reduction of Israeli fatalities in 2005 and 75 percent among Palestinians. The Gaza disengagement plan, while traumatic for Gaza evacuees, was supported by 70 percent of Israelis. It was implemented virtually without violence and with mutual respect between the Israel Defense Forces and the evacuees. Although criticized for being insensitive to the poor and creating too many holes in the social safety net, Sharon’s administration, led by Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, made the necessary structural changes and economic reforms that will allow Israel to be competitive in the global economy of the 21st century.
Sharon’s establishment of a new party, Kadima, as a centrist force in Israeli politics between the Left, represented by Labor, and the Right, represented by Likud, is a bold new move. Only the future will tell whether this political party will be a permanent fixture, but early indications are positive.
Not emphasized enough in the media, however, was the prime minister’s championing of strengthened ties between the Jewish people and Israel. This was manifested by his ardent advocacy for the aliya of Argentinean Jewry during their country’s economic distress four years ago — matched by the Jewish Agency for Israel’s investment in Argentina’s educational infrastructure to ensure a strong Jewish future. He advocated for the aliya of Falash Mura Ethiopians, close to 20,000 strong, despite the huge absorption cost entailed. In cooperation with the Jewish Agency and IDF, the prime minister supported the military’s Nitzav program, which instructs non-Jewish soldiers, primarily from the former Soviet Union, on Judaism. As a result, they will learn what they are fighting for and, hopefully, many thousands will convert to join the Jewish people.
He was a stern advocate for French Jewry, as it encountered unparalleled anti-Semitism, and spoke frequently about his concern over Jewish assimilation in North America. Although birthright israel, a response to assimilation, was launched before he undertook his premiership, Sharon was strongly attached to this program, funded by the Israeli government, the Jewish Agency/UJA system, and mega-philanthropists. Ninety thousand young people have already participated in this program from all parts of the globe. The night he was stricken, the prime minister was scheduled to speak to several thousand of them in Jerusalem.
The last major initiative to be developed in this realm is the MASA program, a collaboration between the State of Israel and the Jewish Agency/UJA system. It will provide substantial subsidies for college students and graduates to spend a semester to a year of study in Israel. Hopefully, many of these individuals will be “graduates” of the birthright israel experience. The more exposed these young people are to the life, culture, religion, and body politic of Israel, the more they will identify with the Jewish state and their own Jewish identity. They will enrich their home communities.
So as we honor the great geopolitical, economic, and security accomplishments of Ariel Sharon, we must honor his greatness as a leader, not only of Israelis but of the entire Jewish people. In a career that spanned the history of Israel, Sharon was indeed his “brother’s keeper.”