Opinion & Comment
Politica
Sharon Living on Borrowed Time

No serious developments have yet taken place but the general sense in the political establishment is that Ariel Sharon is living on borrowed time as he awaits the investigation of political scandals in which he and his sons were allegedly involved, primarily the Cyril Kern monetary transfers and the Greek Island bribery affair.

Last week Prime Minister Sharon was questioned by police, and on Sunday the High Court ordered Gilad Sharon to turn over documents that could shed light on the monetary transfers.

As if that were not enough former Mossad chief and National Security Council head Ephraim Levy, considered one of the leading figures in Israel's security apparatus, lodged harsh criticism against Sharon's leadership and decision-making methods.

Some political figures see a connection between the political scandals and Sharon's security failures. They say Sharon is more focused on matters surrounding himself and his sons than on matters of state, and lacks the composure and the peace of mind his office demands.

The public is fed up with the decline in security under the present government. Sharon promised to bring peace and security but has yet to deliver the goods. He had a reputation as a superlative leader in security matters, but he has not come through. Under Sharon, Israelis feel more vulnerable than ever before.

Sharon began his term in office with one of the strongest popularity ratings any Israeli prime minister has ever enjoyed, but since then Am Yisroel's confidence in him dwindled and now the public has grown weary of him.

Previous prime ministers lost the seat of power over such grave security failures. Golda Meir because of the Yom Kippur War; Menachem Begin was forced to resign due to the Lebanon War; Shimon Peres lost to Binyamin Netanyahu in the '96 elections because of a spate of terrorist attack after the Oslo Accords; Ehud Barak was driven out of office after the intifadah broke out--and now it's apparently Sharon's turn.

Sharon has failed in every area: security, economics and social affairs. This sense that Sharon's career is quickly winding down is being voiced by politicians as well, particularly those who hope to inherit the throne--Netanyahu, Mofaz, Livnat and Olmert.

The economic plan Netanyahu presented last week includes deep cuts in the Defense and Education Ministries. Nobody has stated explicitly that this budget slashing is tied to future political campaigns, yet it is hard to escape the hunch that behind the economic reasoning in cutting the Ministries of Education and Defense budgets lies a certain political logic: to make it difficult for Mofaz and Livnat to manage their respective ministries and to restrict their maneuverability, thus preventing them from reaching achievements in office.

More Budgeting for Holy Sites

Two weeks ago the Knesset House Committee held a meeting to discuss dismantling the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the religious authorities. At the end of the meeting a decision was reached not to advance any legislative proceedings connected to dismantling the ministry or reorganizing the religious ministries until the religious councils pay all back wages owed to workers and rabbonim.

Yet other related issues do not require Knesset approval or legislation, such as transferring the department of non- Jewish communities to the Interior Ministry and the Center for Holy Sites to the Tourism Ministry, and the government is making plans to implement both moves.

During the meeting, Committee Chairman Uri Stern (Ha'ichud Haleumi) expressed surprise over the latter idea, saying the holy sites are not mere tourist attractions. Many visitors come to the holy sites not to tour but to pray, and he wondered whether the Ministry of Tourism could take responsibility for their upkeep and management without harming their holiness, chas vesholom.

On the other hand there would be certain advantages in making the Ministry of Tourism responsible for the holy sites. During the drastic decline in tourism over the last three years the State of Israel has been investing tremendous resources in efforts to draw tourists in spite of the Intifadah, concentrating largely on domestic tourism.

That the government spends almost no money on the holy sites is no secret and the Religious Affairs Ministry, with all its good intentions, lacks the fiscal ability to maintain them as they deserve to be kept. Places such as R' Shimon Bar Yochai's gravesite in Meron, the ancient cemetery in Tzfas and R' Yonoson Ben Uziel's gravesite at Amuka are seriously under-budgeted and the time has come for the Jewish nation to invest in them the kind of resources provided for every promenade, aerial tram and nature preserve anywhere in the country.

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