mashdownbabylon

Sharon as de Gaulle

"Who is that masked man?" I joked under my breath during the Disengagement, as I heard yet another comparison made of Ariel Sharon to the late French President Charles de Gaulle. The fact that then-French President Jacques Chirac had told Israel’s Prime Minister the previous month that he was not welcome in France, for having encouraged his country’s Jews to immigrate to Israel, made this stream of de Gaulle comparisons even more annoying.  Whether it was out of a desire for a strong conservative leader who could reassure Israelis that they could conclude a final peace agreement with the Palestinians, or a yearning for a strong, conservative leader who would protect all Jews, was unclear.

Throughout his tenure as Israel’s Prime Minister, at home or abroad, Sharon's persistent identification with de Gaulle was a tremendous source of strength and legitimacy for his large than life leadership. Lauded the world over for his steely resolve, his stereotypically brusque, Israeli independence, and his ability to consistently deliver Israel from it’s enemies, the founder of two of the country’s two most significant political parties of the last generation - Likud and Kadima - was treated almost as though he were the closet thing to a national superhero: a reincarnation of the founder of the Fifth Republic.

As awkward as this might sound, there are very simple reasons for asking this question, particularly in the wake of the Six Day War. Why, given the trauma associated with the subsequent rupturing of Israel's alliance with France, would Israelis choose a French icon like de Gaulle to model their ideal leader after, especially considering how snubbed they were made to feel by the late President’s behavior in the wake of the victory? If Israelis were really as upset by de Gaulle's action as to consider it anti-Semitic, the verdict being passed on Sharon as though he were de Gaulle generates more questions than it answers.

In the years following his assumption of the Prime Minister’s office, when comparisons between Sharon and de Gaulle reached critical mass, could this comparison have served as a sign of possible disrespect? That, Israeli politics had sunk to such a profound low, that Israelis had put their faith in a murderous thug accused of war crimes to lead them out of the Occupied Territories? Was it an expression of genuine appreciation that Israel, like France, could produce soldier-statesman who embodied a similar combination of leadership qualities? Or were such comparisons simply empty rhetoric used to reassure Diaspora Jews that Israel was indeed governed by a European style aristocracy?

In every case, the answer is affirmative. For liberals, like de Gaulle, Sharon was an ambitious army officer with anti-democratic tendencies, guided by a similar combination of nationalist and security conservatisms, and an enormous ego. Yet, despite such obviously disrespectful views of his character, Sharon was to be tolerated because he grew willing to assimilate progressive foreign policy objectives, such as withdrawing from Gaza, and determining a final international border, irrespective of how problematic both the withdrawals, and the security wall he began building on Israel’s eastern frontier would end up being.

Shwarma with Sharon

It was late in the afternoon at Tel Aviv's Olympia restaurant. Barely a soul was present, with the exception of an overweight middle aged man sitting at the center of a large table, surrounded by several IDF officers sporting berets neatly folded inside their epaulets. Some were sipping cups of  Turkish coffee. Others were smoking cigarettes and talking, while the gentleman at the center of the proceedings sat there in silence.

Eventually a large plate of shwarma arrived, and when it did, all of the soldiers present allowed him to help himself first. Digging his hands into the steaming hot dish, he ended his silence. "Nu, Elie," he yelled out across the room to my father. "Manishma?" ("how are you?" ) he asked. My father got up from our table and politely made his way over to him. "Beseder," ("Fine") he said politely, explaining that he had arrived for a late lunch with his son, whom he'd just brought over from the United States.

"Who is that man you just said hi to?" I asked my father after he returned to our table. "That's Ariel Sharon," my father said. "He's a retired general, who'se now working in politics." I recognized Sharon's name. I'd seen it in the newspaper. It corresponded with a picture book I was reading about the 1973 war. "Isn't he a hero?" I asked.  "Well, yes," my father replied, sounding a little conflicted. "He lead the charge against the Egyptians two years ago in the Sinai."

Over dinner at a friend's apartment in Tel Aviv in 2005, I asked what had become of the Olympia. "It closed many years ago," the hostess said. "When did you last go there?" "When I was eight," I replied. "In 1975." Telling them the story of running into Sharon, they both laughed. "I once worked on Sharon's ranch when I was a kid," the host  said. "Watching him eat was an amazing - and a somewhat unpleasant experience. He would attack food like it was the enemy."