Rivlin attacked Sharon and the plan without holding almost anything back. "It seems that Sharon is intent on carrying out his plan, despite the horrific rift in the nation," Rivlin wrote. "Now, as we reach the moment of truth for the first time, as the fate of the settlement movement is in our hands, in the hands of a national government which has an almost unprecedented support in the public, it appears to me we are failing.
"We did not examine the loyalty [of Likud leaders] to the principles upon which Menachem Begin built the national movement, their loyalty to the basic ideals of the Herut Party, and their loyalty to Israel.
"The Disengagement Law will eventually encompass (if not by this Likud government, then by that which will replace it and will rely on the precedents this government sets) the open space of Judea, the land of Benjamin, all of Samaria and also Jerusalem. He who declares himself an 'occupier' in Gush Katif will not be able to stop there."
Some of the nuances in this letter are important indicators of just how low Sharon has sunk in his abandonment of all that he has ever stood for. Sharon succeeded in building the most stable nationalist government in Israel's history, and in getting large swaths of the public to support him that have never supported the Likud before. He managed to unite disparate parties with conflicting aims, and to find a uniquely strong balance to his government, which it was not within the interests of any party to upset. For the first time in recognizable memory, the Israeli government was not in perennial danger of imploding.
Rivlin is experienced enough to realize all this. But he laments the fact that with all this stability and support, Sharon is actively undoing all that he has accomplished. It is Sharon himself that Rivlin holds responsible for the current instability in this government. And it is Sharon's disloyalty to the values of the movement he helped unite that is the cause of all these evils.
Rivlin was basically echoed later on by Cabinet Minister Tzipi Livni, a Sharon ally and a supporter of the Disengagement Plan. "This is the beginning of a change of government," Livni said. "For the past few months, the writing has been on the wall."
Livni went on to condemn Rivlin as if it is his fault the government is teetering. But Rivlin is correct. It is Sharon's fault and his alone that the potential of this government will not be properly fulfilled.
This government set out on a terrifically ambitious program of economic reform, social reform, restructuring religious services, rebuilding the relationships between religious and secular, renewing military deterrence, and recreating hope among Israelis for a better future in economic, social, security and diplomatic realms. None of this would have been possible without a firmly balanced coalition working together for common aims – something that has been missing from the Israeli political landscape for far too long.
But, alas, none of these improvements, as significant as they are or can be, mean as much to Sharon as the opportunity to uproot Jews from their homes in Israel. The only thing left to do is wonder what has happened to Sharon the champion of Israel. He has become more destructive than almost any other prime minister in Israel's history. As a result, the blessed stability that held so much promise for a country so tired of election strife, has crumbled. The government hangs on by its teeth to a threadbare ability to fend off parliamentary challenges.
Sharon has disengaged himself from the very real needs for improvement in Israel. He has turned his back on the opportunity to become the most accomplished prime minister in Israel's history in terms of developing every realm of society for the better. He would rather revert to the suicidal policies of his predecessors and to the plain anti-Semitism that is inherent in kicking Jews out of their homes and forcefully moving them against their will.
Copyright 2004. All rights reserved. Yehuda Poch is a journalist living in Israel. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission of the author only.
