Ariel sharon

One of the most controversial figures in Israeli political and military history. Before entering politics, he was a well-known respected general, considered the greatest field commander in the country's history and one of its greatest military strategist. Upon retirement from the IDF, he entered politics and was a member of the Likud. He served as Defense Minister up until the onslaught of the second Lebanon War. Sharon was a proponent of settlement construction through the 1990's, yet as prime minister in 2005, he initiated the disengagement from the Gaza Strip, a move frowned upon by his party. Facing opposition, he left the Likud and found Kadima. Sharon suffered a severe stroke in 2006 which left him hospitalized in a vegetative state up until his death in 2014.

We need to talk about the two state solution - opinion

Establishing a Palestinian state has been a feature of Israeli rhetoric since the 1990s, and the majority of prime ministers have expressed willingness to agree to it, under certain conditions.

 THEN-PRESIDENT Shimon Peres and then-prime minister Ehud Olmert attend a ceremony at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, 2009. Peres and Olmert advocated for an agreement with the Palestinians and the Arab world, the writer notes.
 OPPONENTS OF Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan face IDF troops as they secure the fence of Kfar Maimon in July 2005 after police blocked them from marching to the Gush Katif communities to protest against their demolition.

Returning to Gaza is a big mistake, calls are disturbing - editorial

Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich

Smotrich's vision: From yeshiva bocher to architect of West Bank settlement surge

Israeli police explosive experts survey the remains of a private house after it was hit by a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel, in Sderot, southern Israel October 15, 2023.

Paradigms will need to shift for Sderot to be reborn - analysis


Raanan Gissin, best known as Sharon's spokesman, passes away at 74

A frequent presence on international television channels, the gravel-voiced Gissin with the bushy black eyebrows cast a formidable figure.

 Raanan Gissin, US Embassy in Israel, July 4th 2015.

Ariel Sharon: The complex legacy of Israel’s warrior-statesman

Sharon’s initial reputation was not entirely undeserved, although few doubted his generalship.

 THEN-UN secretary-general Kofi Annan meets with then-prime minister Ariel Sharon at UN Headquarters, in September 2005. Sharon’s post-disengagement UN visit saw world leaders lining up to be photographed with him.

President Herzog honors the memory of Ariel Sharon

In 2006, while serving as prime minister after his military career, Sharon suffered a stroke which ultimately put him into an eight-year-long coma.

 President Isaac Herzog participates in memorial for the late former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his wife Lily.

Is Netanyahu a dreidel or is he being turned into an etrog? - opinion

The media that protected Sharon are now consumed with fear that the reputed strong men of the new coalition are about to destroy democratic rule in Israel.

 THEN-SUPREME Court president Dorit Beinisch chats with her predecessor, Aharon Barak, at a law conference in Jerusalem, 2010

Generals in Israeli politics are no longer hot commodities - opinion

Perhaps voters appreciate that despite Israel’s pervasive security challenges, bravery and proficiency in battle do not in themselves provide the experience for successful national leadership.

 GADI EISENKOT waves at the launch of the National Unity Party election campaign, in Tel Aviv, earlier this month.

Gilad Sharon: From my parents’ memorial service

I muse over friendship and love: Parents’ love for their children, love between a man and a woman, the evolution of love, how it is born out of natural selection and to what proportions it can grow.

 GILAD (left) and Omri (second from left) Sharon attend their father’s funeral at the former prime minister’s ranch in the Negev, January 2014.

Reuven Adler: My brilliant friend

Reuven Adler was close to the Sharon family for decades. He was a sharp, unerring, and brutal analyst, a winner to the core and someone who didn't quit in bad times.

 REUVEN ADLER, one of the founders of the Adler-Chomsky advertising agency, poses for a photo in 2004.

On This Day: Then-prime minister Ariel Sharon suffers severe stroke

Ariel Sharon was prime minister of Israel from 2001 until 2006.

PRIME MINISTER Ariel Sharon in 2006.

Is a nuclear Iran an existential threat?

A selection from Haim Ramon’s upcoming book provides his inside look into history as a longtime minister

 THEN-PRIME MINISTER Benjamin  Netanyahu delivers a statement to the  press regarding the Iranian nuclear  program, September 2019.

Can Biden overcome his Afghanistan mistake? - opinion

President Joe Biden's handling of the Afghanistan crisis may place him on equal footing with other historical leaders who never recovered from their big missteps.

 US President Joe Biden returns a salute as he arrives at Fort McNair on his way back to the White House to deliver a statement on Afghanistan, in Washington, U.S., August 16, 2021.

Sharon peace may have delayed legal case, Bibi’s won’t – why not?

There are many crucial differences between Sharon and Netanyahu’s cases, not the least of which is that Sharon died mid-investigation.

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu with members of his legal team at the beginning of his corruption trial at the Jerusalem District Court in May.