Who is Ariel Sharon

Ariel Sharon, the current contended to the Israeli Prime Minister position held by Ehud Barak, is a longtime member of the Likud party. He was born at Kfar Malal in 1928 and joined the Zionist group Haganah at an early age. The Haganah was military force that defended Jewish interests in Palestine and also attacked Arabs as well. During the 1948 War of Independence, he commanded an infantry company in the Alexandroni Brigade.

Sharon went on to found and lead a special commando unit that carried out special operations. He also led forces in the Sinai War of 1956 as the commander of the paratroop corps that landed in the Sinai to capture the Suez Canal alongside French and British forces.

He went on to command several divisions and obtained a law degree from Tel Aviv University before leading an armored division in the Six Day War that resulted in Israel expanding its borders and obtaining the Sinai, Gaza Strip, West Bank, and most importantly, East Jerusalem. Sharon was appointed the Head of the Southern Command Staff in 1969 but resigned in 1972. He was recalled to active service because of the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

Following the Yom Kippur War, Sharon began his political career in the Knesset and served as a security advisor to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1975. He was elected to the Knesset in 1977 on the Shlomzion ticket. Following the elections, he joined the Herut party and was appointed Agriculture Minister. He served as Minister of Defense from 1981-83, and actively planned and participated in Operation Grapes of Wrath that ultimately led to the expulsion of the PLO from Lebanon, plunged Lebanon deeper into civil war, and mired Israeli occupation troops in a quagmire that lasted until only a few months ago.

Following his stint as Defense Minister, Sharon has served as Minister of Industry and Trade from 1984-90 and as Minister of Housing and Construction from 1990-92. Sharon has also served as Foreign Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and been a leading figure in Israeli politics for over 20 years.

He is a quite capable politician and skillful in both military and legal affairs. His leadership skills shouldn't be underestimated although the same could have been said of his Likud predecessor Benjamin Netenyahu. Netenyahu ran on a peace through strength campaign that ended with neither peace nor strength vis-à-vis her neighbors.

His political strengths lie in his ability to galvanize the public who is growing weary of the continued violence and second Intifada that began coincidentally with Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount. Palestinians see him as the agent provacateur who caused the killings by his visit to the Temple Mount while many Israelis see Sharon as exercising an Israeli and Jewish right to walk the Temple Mount and visit the holy sites in Jerusalem.

Go To Page: 1 2