There is no doubt that Ariel Sharon was one of the most outstanding leaders of the State of Israel for decades, for better and for worse, except for one small problem: he was not assassinated by a lowly assassin but died on his sickbed in a hospital, after existing in a coma for eight years. Thus, each year when his death's anniversary roles around, few people commemorate or even remember it except for the few from his home in Chavat Hashikmim down south. The media does not mention the day in special editions nor are any public events held on that anniversary. His rich military and political career do not enjoy any review or critique, and thus he is relegated to a forgotten doom, together with his colleagues and predecessors who went the way of all men.
It is conceivable to assume that were it not for the assassination of Rabin, his end would mirror that of his predecessor. It is likely that he would have lost the next election to Netanyahu, at least according to the surveys made at the time, and would have then returned home as a past prime minister, occupied with writing his memoirs and remembered negatively as signing the Oslo Agreement which brought in its wake the gang of murderers and its leader, Yassir Arafat.
No one would have bothered with his 'legacy', nor would throngs fill the city squares with memorial assemblies. The rivers of ink poured about him to date in his praise as one of the most memorable figures of Israeli history would have remained in their inkwells, to serve other purposes, perhaps for assemblies regarding his opponents and even about his predilection for the bitter cup, or his nervous breakdown — according to reports — on the eve of the Yom Kippur war when he served as Chief of Staff and was apprehensive regarding the outcome of the war.
The whole annual 'festival' around Rabin and his legacy, which has been transformed since then as a provoking demonstration against the Rightist camp, would have been spared the State, and notwithstanding, this will not be forgiven to the gross assassin who has been sitting behind bars for the past thirty years, where he will probably stay until the end of his days.
Financed From their Own Pockets
The public is still under the grand impression made by the enormous Prayer Rally which took place in Jerusalem, whose primary message was support for yeshiva scholars and against those forces seeking to eradicate the Torah from our midst. This was a gathering which joined together all the adherents of Torah in one place, united in one view regarding military duty and its spiritual threat.
It is hard to believe that after such a rally there still exist psuedo-chareidi factions, supported by the chareidi public from its own pocket and which declare before one and all with proud, unsuppressed arrogance, that they are doing all in their power to integrate the chareidi public into the Israeli scene, while actually doing all in their power to lasso in more and more chareidim into the army. These sycophants imagine that those who despise chareidim to begin with, will love them more when they see them openly declaring that they are acting deliberately against Torah leadership. The wonder is how such declarations are not met with objection.
And indeed, there are some who purport to call themselves chareidim, and it is reasonable to assume that a great many actually participated in the rally — yet continue to personally financially support those who declare that with this money, they are actually creating propaganda for heightened military service for chareidim.
