A tyrant is taking root here
By Gideon Samet
Haaretz, January 21, 2004
The separation fence folly is turning into one of the worst scandals in which an Israeli government has become entangled. And it's not because of the political motive: Sharon has engaged yet worse maneuvers to undermine prospects for an agreement, and to perpetuate Israel's destructive nonaction. The fence/wall is such an egregious scandal because of the heedless manner in which a decision was reached to build it. There was never a substantive discussion about it; nor were its negative global implications forecasted. After every last word is said about Sharon's actions and mistakes, the fence and its outrageous manner of construction will remain as a stark symbol of the brawny methods, and reckless disregard of results, of one-man rule.
Reminiscent of other episodes in his past, the fence affair illustrates Sharon's undeniable knack for managing a totally wrong-headed maneuver with what appears to be deft, efficient aplomb. Constructing hundreds of kilometers of fence and spending sums that could be allocated elsewhere to cover almost all the state's budget holes, Sharon has led the government and all its experts toward a boondoggle that will now have to be changed from top to bottom.
How did it come to pass that nobody in the government's policy-making circles stood up to correct the mistake? What does the construction of the concrete and barbed wire monster say about the way decisions are reached in the Sharon government? It says that Sharon's destructive industriousness does not today, and has not in the past, confronted anybody who is willing to question it.
The wall proves that more than Sharon's fundamental policy principles are flawed. The decision's enactment itself has been rife with terrible errors. At first glance, it appears peculiar that Sharon, amid a plethora of political troubles, has allowed himself to get bogged in a mire of international criticism, in an extravagant waste that will cause him to further throw away tens, or perhaps hundreds, of millions of shekels due to rash behavior. But the truth is that Sharon, who originally opposed the fence, has spent this money to promote another one of his improvised tactics. The fence is designed to serve as a makeshift interim solution that shoves aside diplomatic resolutions that the prime minister has done his utmost to derail. The fence was no accident: it embodies the spirit of a man who thinks he can do anything - including creating a futile, latter-day version of the Barlev line - without anyone being seriously consulted. The wall has gone up as a tribute to unbridled political power.
Under normal circumstances, a leader whose continued term in office is in jeopardy would act with caution, and avoid a political fiasco such as gambling on the fence, a mistake that involves the misuse of public money and harms the state's international status. Yet, once again it has turned out that the Sharon risk soars to new heights precisely when he confronts crises. Under crisis, he defies the whole world. Another occurred this week when he threatened Jordan, the lone Arab country with which we more or less have peace, by saying it will pay a price for (what Sharon sees as) its part in dragging Israel to The Hague. Similarly, he applauded the behavior of Israel's raging ambassador in Stockholm. At such moments, Sharon finds it convenient to take umbrage at the new wave of world anti-Semitism. And the fence has been his way of showing there is no way to get around the impasse in talks with the Palestinians - an impasse for which he bears most of the responsibility - other than promoting what is depicted as an abomination by Israel haters overseas and by righteous domestic critics.
Ephraim Halevy, who ever since he was chased away in disgrace from the top position at the National Security Council has become one such critic, urged this week that a "diplomatic, strategic disaster" be averted by convening urgent government discussions of the fence by "public servants." Describing these officials, he referred to the "best brains," and those who have "sound judgment." The best brains? How did Sharon manage to crush the sound judgment which Halevy referred to, somewhat obsequiously? It happened because a tyrant is taking root here. In one of the most dismal moments of his career, Sharon has become a leader who does whatever he wants. In a state where it was not so easy to appeal to anti-Semitism, national anxieties and all the other old ghosts to excuse a gigantic blunder, a scandal such as the separation fence would suffice for a person like Sharon to fall from power.
