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Ariel Sharon reminds me these days of Chance the Gardener, the star of the movie "Being There," based on Jerzy Kosinski's book. Chance's world revolves around images from the world of gardening: "Seeds are sown in autumn;" "flowers blossom in spring;" "leaves turn yellow in the fall;" "when winter is over and summer comes, the trees will bear fruit."
The Washington political scene, including the president himself, is convinced that lurking behind Chance's simple words are incomparably profound political insights and
multiple meanings that will solve the problems of the
world. He utters a word and everyone thinks he might mean this or might mean that. Altogether, an out-and-out genius.
That's what popped into my head as I heard the news that the prime minister is planning to dismantle outposts, maybe even unilaterally, as soon as next summer. Why next summer? Heck, we just finished this one. At the moment, it's
fall. Winter will be here soon, and then spring, and finally, summer. In the meantime, another year of doing nothing will go by. Sharon's world is full of rhetoric that sounds promising. For example, his commitment to "painful concessions," which people can interpret however they want. It could mean giving up territories, but also the opposite: holding on to territories instead of peace. That's painful, too.
A couple of months ago, Sharon said it was impossible to lord over 3.5 million Palestinians. The pundits melted like butter:
Sharon is finally about to do something big. But it was all talk. Since then, nothing has happened.
This week, with autumn still upon us, they said Sharon would begin unilateral action in the territories. It got a headline, but when the government convened, it turned out to be a typical Sharon bubble. All he said was that he didn't rule out unilateral action, but he hasn't decided what he plans to do, when he plans to do it, or whether he will do anything at all.
"It's all virtual," said Avigdor Lieberman. "It's all media spin," said Benny Elon. No one took Sharon's statements seriously, including Sharon himself: "I say half a sentence and everyone reads into it what they want."
Sharon has reached the point where his good friend Bush scolded him from London for not making the grade in terms of gestures that would propel the road map forward. In the
atmosphere generated by the wave of terror that week, the president's words could have been interpreted as a warning: Israel was liable to be blamed for this wave of terror.
A chill wind is blowing from the White House. It is openly disappointed with Sharon for not taking steps that would pave the way for fruitful dialogue with the government of Ahmed Qureia. The United States supports a Russian
proposal to put the UN Security Council in charge of implementing the road map.
Sharon is a one-man Bullshit Artists, Inc. He is bullshitting Bush the same way he is bullshitting the citizens of this country. The future of the settlements, the outposts, the
fence project and where it is heading - none of these matters is being addressed in any tangible way.
To this day, no one knows for sure if Sharon really halted the construction of 43 outposts. No one knows what his intentions are regarding the settlements in Gaza. No one knows his views on the dangers of a binational state. On every topic that concerns Israel's survival, he uses the imagery of Chance the Gardener - or lashes out at the media.
Unlike Elyakim Rubinstein, who doesn't understand that his problem is not his skullcap but his spinelessness, Sharon actually appreciates how important the media is. He has
no peer when it comes to both exploiting the media and jumping down its throat. On the one hand, he and his office are involved in media spin 24 hours a day, selling us baloney and manufacturing cover-ups. On the other hand, there is nothing easier than blaming the media when things go wrong.
The Israeli public, and the political system as well, sense that their leader is not telling the truth. Comparing Sharon's promises and half-statements to his performance as prime
minister, it is plain as day that behind his cryptic utterances there is not the tiniest intention to carry out painful concessions.
The truth is that he has squandered the unique opportunity that came his way when he was elected by a landslide and people believed that "only Sharon could." Now, bogged down by his family's legal problems, his strength as a leader has reached rock bottom.
Original link:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/364619.html
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