Arik moves further left
Readers of this blog know better than to count on me for Israeli political commentary. But we're really making history over here these days, and how can I not comment? I can't say I feel involved, exactly, though I am whether I feel it or not. After all, the big events of the day are transpiring far away, and all I can do is read about it (or watch it) on the news. The closest it came for me personally was my colleague, a religious man, a grandfather of five, who lives in a settlement not being evacuated (at this time, anyway). He agonized all week about how to participate/help in the fight against the evacuators, and eventually took a day off to drive down south. I don't even know what happened, because he refused to talk about it when he returned. I imagine it was an extremely painful day for him, and that he probably felt quite helpless in the face of what was happening. At least he can say he went to show solidarity with his brethren.
But I I feel very proud of Arik Sharon this week, and extremely pleased finally by his immense strength. This article summarizing a speech he gave this week gives you an idea of his new "leftist" perspective and what may be coming down the pike in the foreseeable future.
It's good to feel optimistic, and proud of our prime minister, for the first time in a decade.
posted by squarepeg @ 11:31 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
While I certainly applaud Sharon for managing to pull of the disengagement, I can't help but wonder what he'll do next - whether this is the start of something big, or if he's going to stop the momentum in its tracks and not go all the way (or at least a good part of the way) for peace. I suppose time will tell.
While the future is indeed hazy and the ultimate evolution of this initiative impossible to predict, I feel confident that Arik is determined to see it through to the best of his ability. The die is cast: he has taken a shocking but firm stand; Bibi the ultimate hypocrite has taken up the opposite stand. I am convinced that he will do his damnedest to finish the job and retire as the hero -- of peace, this time, instead of war -- he perhaps was always fated to be. (And if anyone had told me five years ago that I'd be championing Arik Sharon one day, I would have been derisive, to put it mildly.)
I trust Sharon... but I still feel iffy about the other side. Here's why.
Hey, B2, you'll get no argument from me on the iffiness of "the other side" -- just don't forget: "they" are no more monolithic than "we"are. Some want peace; others want to hold on to their anger. From what I've read about the rage of the recently disenfranchised messianic Jews, they're not going to go quietly into any goodnight either, even if "the other side" shocks us all with an olive branch. That does worry me, because religious fundamentalism is the same everywhere, no matter what language it rants in. Still, I must choose optimism.
Morning Star: THANK YOU! I'm delighted that my mundane life amuses you! [kidding!!!] I'm really happy you're here :)
Morning Star and Noorster, thanks for the good vibes! And I'm sure we are not alone as optimists, but N: all the more reason to get writing again! ;)
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