Saturday 11 January 2014

Ariel Sharon is dead

Don’t believe the eulogies, which will now inundate us. The only thing one can say is that Israel would probably have been better off, had this charismatic, effective and amoral leader never been. One cannot exaggerate the damage Sharon has caused his own country and his important role in the decline of moral values in public life in Israel.  

It could have been prevented: his moral flaws were well known to his superiors from early on, in the days when he was still a young officer. However, they (Dayan and Ben-Gurion) considered him useful and – a bit like the sorcerer’s apprentice - thought that they would be able to control him. And, boy, were they wrong.

Perhaps the important lesson to be learned is: Do not be tempted to use gifted, ambitious operators for your dirty work. The day will come when they will do the dirty independently and the evil they will carry out will be out of your control. 

4 comments:

  1. The glowing eulogies are bursting out in the media. I was so glad to read your blog as it confirmed my revulsion. I also reread what you had to say about Mandela and found the comments and the man a good balance to Sharon.
    Thank you.

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  2. You are not alone.
    I think the Palestinians don`t like him either.

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  3. To write off such a talented political and military genius so glibly suggests that your comments are more motivated by bigotry than by a balanced assessment.

    The net balance might come out negative, but it will take a lot more knowledge, release of documents, proper analysis and historical perspective to make a safe assessment. It would be naïve to suggest that those who came before were free from any moral blemishes, or that those who came after him had no moral standards. As always, the truth is usually more complex, even if the simplistic media like to air-brush out any complicated nuances.

    As for the eulogies – very little positive comment is being posted internationally as I understand it.

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  4. The best headline in one of the news papers today: "Arik return to the farm, for eternity"

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