Opinion
& Comment
Politica
Sharon Living on Borrowed Time
by E. Rauchberger
No serious developments have yet taken place but the general
sense in the political establishment is that Ariel Sharon is
living on borrowed time as he awaits the investigation of
political scandals in which he and his sons were allegedly
involved, primarily the Cyril Kern monetary transfers and the
Greek Island bribery affair.
Last week Prime Minister Sharon was questioned by police, and
on Sunday the High Court ordered Gilad Sharon to turn over
documents that could shed light on the monetary transfers.
As if that were not enough former Mossad chief and National
Security Council head Ephraim Levy, considered one of the
leading figures in Israel's security apparatus, lodged harsh
criticism against Sharon's leadership and decision-making
methods.
Some political figures see a connection between the political
scandals and Sharon's security failures. They say Sharon is
more focused on matters surrounding himself and his sons than
on matters of state, and lacks the composure and the peace of
mind his office demands.
The public is fed up with the decline in security under the
present government. Sharon promised to bring peace and
security but has yet to deliver the goods. He had a
reputation as a superlative leader in security matters, but
he has not come through. Under Sharon, Israelis feel more
vulnerable than ever before.
Sharon began his term in office with one of the strongest
popularity ratings any Israeli prime minister has ever
enjoyed, but since then Am Yisroel's confidence in him
dwindled and now the public has grown weary of him.
Previous prime ministers lost the seat of power over such
grave security failures. Golda Meir because of the Yom Kippur
War; Menachem Begin was forced to resign due to the Lebanon
War; Shimon Peres lost to Binyamin Netanyahu in the '96
elections because of a spate of terrorist attack after the
Oslo Accords; Ehud Barak was driven out of office after the
intifadah broke out--and now it's apparently Sharon's
turn.
Sharon has failed in every area: security, economics and
social affairs. This sense that Sharon's career is quickly
winding down is being voiced by politicians as well,
particularly those who hope to inherit the throne--Netanyahu,
Mofaz, Livnat and Olmert.
The economic plan Netanyahu presented last week includes deep
cuts in the Defense and Education Ministries. Nobody has
stated explicitly that this budget slashing is tied to future
political campaigns, yet it is hard to escape the hunch that
behind the economic reasoning in cutting the Ministries of
Education and Defense budgets lies a certain political logic:
to make it difficult for Mofaz and Livnat to manage their
respective ministries and to restrict their maneuverability,
thus preventing them from reaching achievements in office.
More Budgeting for Holy Sites
Two weeks ago the Knesset House Committee held a meeting to
discuss dismantling the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the
religious authorities. At the end of the meeting a decision
was reached not to advance any legislative proceedings
connected to dismantling the ministry or reorganizing the
religious ministries until the religious councils pay all
back wages owed to workers and rabbonim.
Yet other related issues do not require Knesset approval or
legislation, such as transferring the department of non-
Jewish communities to the Interior Ministry and the Center
for Holy Sites to the Tourism Ministry, and the government is
making plans to implement both moves.
During the meeting, Committee Chairman Uri Stern (Ha'ichud
Haleumi) expressed surprise over the latter idea, saying the
holy sites are not mere tourist attractions. Many visitors
come to the holy sites not to tour but to pray, and he
wondered whether the Ministry of Tourism could take
responsibility for their upkeep and management without
harming their holiness, chas vesholom.
On the other hand there would be certain advantages in making
the Ministry of Tourism responsible for the holy sites.
During the drastic decline in tourism over the last three
years the State of Israel has been investing tremendous
resources in efforts to draw tourists in spite of the
Intifadah, concentrating largely on domestic tourism.
That the government spends almost no money on the holy sites
is no secret and the Religious Affairs Ministry, with all its
good intentions, lacks the fiscal ability to maintain them as
they deserve to be kept. Places such as R' Shimon Bar
Yochai's gravesite in Meron, the ancient cemetery in Tzfas
and R' Yonoson Ben Uziel's gravesite at Amuka are seriously
under-budgeted and the time has come for the Jewish nation to
invest in them the kind of resources provided for every
promenade, aerial tram and nature preserve anywhere in the
country.
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