Gideon Levy on the Israeli 'Strong Man'

It's better to be orphans
By Gideon Levy

Once again we are being hit by a wave of desire for "a strong man." From every direction, from the left and right, voices that miss former prime minister Ariel Sharon are being heard, like voices of longing for a father who has departed. "If Sharon were here the war in Lebanon would have ended differently," and "Sharon would have put an end to the Qassams a long time ago."

Let it be said at once: Being orphaned in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's shadow is better than the fatherliness of the mythical leader. Hamas should be profoundly grateful to Sharon, thanks to whom it now controls Gaza. Hezbollah, too, would be ungrateful if it did not thank the man who led to its firm footing in Lebanon, and here in Israel Sderot owes that man for the Qassams that are landing on its head. Those who now miss Sharon are longing for the brute force and bullying that led us to the brink. Israel is nostalgic for its most dangerous leader, for the person who caused it more damage than anyone else.

During his six years as prime minister Sharon wiped out the last chance for the existence of a Palestinian partner. Sharon's Israel waged war on the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and instead of a secular movement that believes in compromises we received a fanatical Islamic leadership, just as the first Lebanon war gave rise to Hezbollah. Whom do we have to thank for this? Sharon.

If, heaven forbid, Sharon were now in a position of leadership, the IDF would already have invaded Gaza, just as it invaded Jenin and Nablus and sowed killing and destruction there. The firing of the Qassams might have ceased for a while, just as has happened with the terror attacks from the West Bank. But on the ruins, reinforced by poverty and despair, a new form of violent resistance would have arisen. Sharon, a real man, would also have totally destroyed the last remnants of the Palestinian unity government, and even then no one would have asked what would come in its stead. It isn't that we aren't acting like bullies now as well, kidnapping an education minister in the middle of the night and bombing money changers. But Olmert has refrained from going all the way in Sharon's path. How pleasant it is, relatively and temporarily, to be orphans in his lap.