2001: A Sharon Odyssey

Arik Sharon achieved his life's ambition when he decisively beat Barak in 2001 in the direct election for the premiership with 36.39 per cent of the eligible vote. Because of Barak's indifference to Israeli Arab concerns and the riots in October, there was a mass abstention of the Arab vote. Ironically, Sharon had made disparaging remarks about Israeli Arabs over the years including that ‘it was not the place for Israeli Arabs to determine who would be Prime Minister’. Yet in not voting for Barak, they did partially determine that Sharon was elected by a huge majority.

The Palestinian reservations about the Camp David proposals and the Clinton Parameters and the minor progress at Taba were seen by the Israeli public as rejectionism which deliberately dovetailed with the outbreak of violence. A comparison with 1936, the outbreak of the Arab Revolt, was in the air. A few urged havlagah (self-restraint), but an increasing majority believed in retaliation. Sharon was widely seen in Ben-Gurion's clothes at this moment in history: someone who would be politically and militarily decisive – and protect the Jews from the suicide bombers.