Paula Stern

Israel as a nation may choose to mourn the current status of its leader, or not.
But there are two things that we as a society cannot afford to do. We cannot pray for his death, that is not what our religion or society can accept; and we cannot stop fighting for our own physical and political survival, which the weak-minded Olmert government is now doing as it continues to live up to the standards set under Ariel Sharon.

Having wished Sharon from office untold number of times, it seems logical that some would assume that the right wing, the Orange People if you will, might wish him ill. But Jews do not celebrate death. We do not court it; we do not preach it. It is not our way. We do not worship martyrs, nor do we encourage our children to become them. And, in the same vein, we do not wish death upon others, even those who have harmed us.

For all that we wanted Sharon to go home, we did not wish it would happen this way. Political humiliation, a landslide defeat, shamed out of office for his corruption were all well within the scope of our wishes, but brain disease, strokes and paralysis were not.

Listening to news reports of Arabs celebrating in Palestinian-controlled areas just shows, again, how misguided were Sharon's last months. No one benefited more from his unilateral plan than the Arabs, and it is they who celebrate his tragic condition.

No one was hurt more by his harsh and ill-advised expulsion of the Jews of Gaza than the 9,000 people still suffering, most still without compensation, still without jobs, still without real community solutions. And yet, most of these people do not wish for his death. Many have prayed for his recovery. Isn't it interesting that those he harmed do not celebrate his illness, while those he enriched with land, resources and essentially independence, celebrate his physical fall even more than his fall from power?

And finally to Ehud Olmert's new government, to Sharon's legacy of capitulation that finds new voice in Olmert's actions. If Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is not prepared to lead decisively, he should not lead at all.

For months, the Israeli government has said that there would be no campaigning for the Palestinian Authority elections in Jerusalem. At last, we thought, a modicum of strength in a government plagued by weak leaders who deliver meaningless responses such as firing into empty fields, easing restrictions meant to protect, or giving weapons and land in the face of attacks and incitement.

Whatever strong message Sharon intended to deliver regarding the future of Jerusalem has been undermined by the Kadima-led government of Olmert which is allowing the Palestinian Authority to establish a foothold in Jerusalem. According to the Oslo Accords, no Palestinian Authority activities are allowed in Jerusalem. Even as we experience almost daily violence and rocket attacks, after months of saying it won't happen, the flip-flop government has happily grasped another opportunity to look indecisive and weak.

Trying to save face, Interior Minister Gideon Ezra of the Kadima party announced that Israel would only buckle selectively. According to Ezra, Israel would not permit "parties that still bear weapons" to campaign. This was meant to keep Hamas out. But wait, Fatah still bears weapons. Just three weeks ago, Fatah claimed responsibility for a barrage of rockets, including those that targeted Ashkelon, and less than a month ago, Fatah claimed responsibility for a "drive-by" terrorist attack in which Yossi Shok was murdered.

Ever a man to recognize his mistakes and bow further to the enemy, Ezra was quick to backtrack and allow campaigning by those who still bear arms, so long as they accept the roadmap, whatever that means. Not wanting to be outdone, Defense Minister and Kadima member Shaul Mofaz has taken a further step, announcing that not only will the Arabs be allowed to campaign in Jerusalem, but they will be allowed to vote in Palestinian Authority elections as well.

To complete the theater of the absurd, Acting Prime Minister Olmert has chimed in with the incredible suggestion that the Arabs be allowed to vote, but not for Hamas. Thus Israel, a nation which revels in its democracy, will send a message of hypocrisy to the world, and a sign of our increased weakness to the Arabs.

The last years of Sharon's government were plagued by continued appeasement culminating in the expulsion of Jews from Gaza and Northern Samaria. This government's current fiasco on Jerusalem, allowing violent anti-Israel organizations to campaign and garner votes on our sovereign territory shows that Ehud Olmert has inherited not only the corrupt partners who plagued the Sharon government, but the same unwillingness to properly answer the threats of our enemies. The weakness continues.

In the last elections, held in February 2001, a democratically run Israel voted for a strong leader who said, "To an outstretched hand of peace we will respond with an olive branch, but expressions of terror will be met by fire more intense than ever."

Whatever twisted path took Ariel Sharon from the strong general he was to the corrupt, weak leader he became, his words remain for all of us the only true roadmap to the future and Israel's current leaders should heed the warning and deliver this strong message.

This appeared on the blog site of Paula Stern: www.paulasays.com