Don’t
believe the eulogies, which will now inundate us. The only thing one can say is
that Israel would probably have been better off, had this charismatic, effective and amoral leader never been. One
cannot exaggerate the damage Sharon has caused his own country and his important role in the decline of moral values in public life in Israel.
It
could have been prevented: his moral flaws were well known to his superiors
from early on, in the days when he was still a young officer. However, they
(Dayan and Ben-Gurion) considered him useful and – a bit like the sorcerer’s
apprentice - thought that they would be able to control him. And, boy, were
they wrong.
Perhaps the important lesson to be learned is: Do not be
tempted to use gifted, ambitious operators for your dirty work. The day will
come when they will do the dirty independently and the evil they will carry out
will be out of your control.
