[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 13 (Tuesday, February 7, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E73-E74]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    ARTICLE BY RABBI ISRAEL ZOBERMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. THELMA D. DRAKE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 7, 2006

  Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to share the following article 
written by a constituent, Rabbi Israel Zoberman.

       This is a time of critical crossroads. Israel's Prime 
     Minister Sharon's serious health condition would have been a 
     cause for concern, nationally and internationally, at any 
     time. The current timing, however, is bound to offer a host 
     of challenges.

[[Page E74]]

       Having just recently formed a new centrist political party, 
     Kadima (Forward), Sharon's popularity in the Israeli public 
     has initially catapulted it in the polls to the top of the 
     March 28 scheduled elections with 40 representatives in 
     Israel's 120 seat Knesset (Parliament). It is doubtful now 
     that presumably in Sharon's absence of active participation, 
     Kadima will muster such commanding influence.
       This reality allows the Likkud party, created by Sharon 
     back in 1973 and decimated by his defection due to its hard-
     line vis-a-vis the Palestinians and Sharon's changed posture, 
     to reemerge as a potent power under Netanyahu's present 
     leadership. The door has also been opened to potential gains 
     by Labor with its head and rising star, Peretz, who defeated 
     long-enduring Peres.
       An unsettled and unsettling Israeli scene is bound to have 
     repercussions, at least temporarily, for the peace process 
     which has finally gathered momentum given the disengagement 
     from Gaza and the northern West Bank. A breakthrough move 
     masterminded by Sharon's single-mindedness and quite smoothly 
     facilitated with the aid of Israel's responsive democracy. 
     The Palestinians and Arab rejectionists might be tempted to 
     take advantage of the temporary vacuum left by Sharon though 
     the government is fully functioning, and test the waters, 
     inviting increased tension in a volatile context.
       Sharon's lasting legacy which can not be denied nor 
     hopefully diminished but only enhanced, is his crowning and 
     courageous transformation from a right winger vehemently 
     opposed to Rabin's Oslo initiative to a responsible leader 
     who upon becoming Prime Minister painfully appreciated the 
     need for a peaceful Palestinian state next to a secure 
     Israel. I recall being in Sharon's company years ago when as 
     the architect of West Bank settlements, he zealously 
     displayed dotted maps. Thus his radically revised course was 
     met with disbelief and hostility by long time friends and 
     supporters, turning him into possibly the most guarded man on 
     earth, traveling by helicopter rather than car.
       I will cherish my memorable encounter with Sharon in 
     December 2000 in Jerusalem, exactly two months before first 
     elected Prime Minister. It was during a solidarity mission 
     following the outbreak of the Second Intifiada, triggered by 
     Sharon's explosive visit to the Temple Mount and his nemesis 
     Arafat taking advantage of it, unleashing unremitting 
     violence against Israeli citizens while denying former Prime 
     Minister Barak's far-reaching negotiating concessions. I 
     found Sharon approaching my row and seating next to me. He 
     was chairman of the Likkud and I saw no bodyguards around 
     him. After he addressed our delegation I had the gumption 
     to ask him if he would had visited the Temple Mount had he 
     known how the Palestinians would exploit it. He simply 
     responded, ``They always have excuses.'' He did express 
     sympathy for the Palestinians' plight. His searching eyes 
     of down-to-earth humanity yet steeled determination will 
     remain with me.
       Just like Rabin the General he too was transformed into 
     both visionary and realist, struggling for that elusive yet 
     essential peace. A war hero who was badly wounded in Israel's 
     1948 War of Independence and distinguished himself in the 
     1967 and 1973 wars, he was deeply disappointed when not 
     appointed the military chief of staff. Sharon received a 
     black eye from the official inquiry commission following the 
     tragic events of the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps during 
     the 1982 war in Lebanon. Consequently he was forced to resign 
     from his Defense Minister post with a bleak public future. He 
     also experienced family adversity, losing two wives and an 
     eleven year old son killed in a gun accident.
       A colorful man of charisma and charm, conflict and 
     controversy, Sharon nonetheless succeeded in gaining his 
     nation's confidence as Prime Minister due in large measure to 
     Palestinian terror and his tough aura though his response to 
     Palestinian provocation of suicide bombings has been quite 
     cautious, partly because, I believe, of his desire to 
     rehabilitate his past tarnished image. His insistence on 
     erecting the security-barrier in face of outside opposition 
     substantially reduced terrorist attacks. Nicknamed the 
     ``bulldozer'' who does not stop at a red light with negative 
     and positive attributes, he proved to be ``the comeback kid'' 
     exhibiting remarkable skills in Israel's political minefield.
       The last of Israel's grandfatherly figures inspiring awe, 
     turning from politician into statesman, he enjoys a close 
     working relationship with President Bush who highly values 
     his Israeli partner in pursuit of common goals in a terrorism 
     threatened world. However, the basic bond between the two 
     intimately linked allied countries will persist with whoever 
     is Israel's leader or America's. Even as we pray for Sharon's 
     well-being we traumatically learned of the fateful impact one 
     man with a crushing burden of duty can make, and of the human 
     boundaries of even great historical personalities. In health 
     and sickness, Sharon has come to symbolize an embattled 
     Israel on the fronts of war and peace fighting to prevail.

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