Sharon

As I’m writing this, Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is suffering from a serious stroke. Doctors are trying to save his life while he’s under general anesthetic, but when they say words like, “cerebral hemorrhage,” “paralysis,” and, “pray for a miracle,” I don’t think you can expect much. Regardless of one’s opinion of his actions over the last year as Prime Minister, we can always remember that he was the man of the hour in 1956, defeating the Egyptians at Mitla pass, again in 1973, when he saved Israel by encircling the invading Egyptian third army, again in 1982, when he expelled the PLO from Lebanon, again in the 90’s when he build up a permanent Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria. While his political actions may have seemed to be foolhardy or despicable at times, it’s important to remember that, unlike other politicians of his generation, he always put Jewish interests first, never cared about his image, and never expressed pity or understanding for the Israel’s sworn enemies. Unlike his contemporaries, he still considered himself a Jew first, Israeli second. Sharon came from a generation that worked miracles, a generation that gathered in millions of disbursed Jews from around the world, greened deserts, drained swamps, and built a country. He leaves behind the dregs of Post-Zionism, names like Netanyahu, Peres, Olmert, and Beilin. Whether or not the recovery we’re all praying for comes to pass, his political life is probably over. All I can say is farewell to the last of the secular Zionists.