After a long military career and a controversial stint as prime minister, Ariel Sharon has passed away. His last eight years were spent in a coma, and his last several days saw sudden rapid deterioration.
It was under Sharon's command that the Gush Katif region of Gaza was evacuated of its Jews in 2005. 8,600 people were pulled from their homes, which were immediately leveled to the ground. There are few Jews from around the globe who do not recall the teary faces of residents and soldiers alike, young army men and women who had the horrific jobs of literally pulling children from the only homes they had ever known, alongside the beautiful, peaceful Mediterranean waters, in an effort to appease the Palestinians who for years had terrorized the peaceful inhabitants of the land
The event drew international attention, as the initiative toward peace would soon be proven a mistake. Although Jews had inhabited the area for hundreds of years, the British had evacuated them following the 1929 Palestinian riots there. From the year 2000, attacks on Jewish residents escalated in the form of school bus bombings and brutal roadside ambushes. Pregnant women, children and men were all equal prey, losing limbs and losing their lives as punishment for residing peacefully in a land that they had been encouraged to re inhabit just years prior by the very government that later removed them.
The Evacuation of Morag
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gush_Katif
Just five months after the disengagement from Gush Katif, Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke which put him into a coma for eight years until his death Saturday at age 85. The terrible yet striking realization of this man's silencing just mere months after removing Jews from their homeland offered widespread pondering of its spiritual implication. In the years to follow, the very land that Israel had surrendered to the Hamas terrorists of Gaza would become a platform for terrorist activity against Israel, affirming that an error in judgment had brought an horrific affliction to the people of the south. Since the 2005 evacuation of Gush Katif, more than 8,000 rockets have been fired from Gaza upon Israeli citizens.
The irony continued yesterday, as Ariel Sharon's body was prepared for burial. The IDF prepared for a 21 gun salute, not from their own but from Hamas militants, who threatened the safety of the funeral attendees. The great irony: Sharon was laid to rest on his Southern Negev ranch, mere kilometers from the very place the Jews were removed from in 2005. The extreme threat of proximity to the terrorists' launching pads only rubbed salt in the wound of those who know all too well the consequences of Sharon's orders from August of 2005.
Just after Sharon's burial, which was attended by 20 foreign dignitaries and hundreds of others, rockets rained on the south as promised, while celebrations were widespread in Gaza. What a thoughtful way to honor a man that gave land for peace, which continues to elude those who desire it most.
Rest in peace, Arik.
It was under Sharon's command that the Gush Katif region of Gaza was evacuated of its Jews in 2005. 8,600 people were pulled from their homes, which were immediately leveled to the ground. There are few Jews from around the globe who do not recall the teary faces of residents and soldiers alike, young army men and women who had the horrific jobs of literally pulling children from the only homes they had ever known, alongside the beautiful, peaceful Mediterranean waters, in an effort to appease the Palestinians who for years had terrorized the peaceful inhabitants of the land
The event drew international attention, as the initiative toward peace would soon be proven a mistake. Although Jews had inhabited the area for hundreds of years, the British had evacuated them following the 1929 Palestinian riots there. From the year 2000, attacks on Jewish residents escalated in the form of school bus bombings and brutal roadside ambushes. Pregnant women, children and men were all equal prey, losing limbs and losing their lives as punishment for residing peacefully in a land that they had been encouraged to re inhabit just years prior by the very government that later removed them.
The Evacuation of Morag
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gush_Katif
Just five months after the disengagement from Gush Katif, Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke which put him into a coma for eight years until his death Saturday at age 85. The terrible yet striking realization of this man's silencing just mere months after removing Jews from their homeland offered widespread pondering of its spiritual implication. In the years to follow, the very land that Israel had surrendered to the Hamas terrorists of Gaza would become a platform for terrorist activity against Israel, affirming that an error in judgment had brought an horrific affliction to the people of the south. Since the 2005 evacuation of Gush Katif, more than 8,000 rockets have been fired from Gaza upon Israeli citizens.
The irony continued yesterday, as Ariel Sharon's body was prepared for burial. The IDF prepared for a 21 gun salute, not from their own but from Hamas militants, who threatened the safety of the funeral attendees. The great irony: Sharon was laid to rest on his Southern Negev ranch, mere kilometers from the very place the Jews were removed from in 2005. The extreme threat of proximity to the terrorists' launching pads only rubbed salt in the wound of those who know all too well the consequences of Sharon's orders from August of 2005.
Just after Sharon's burial, which was attended by 20 foreign dignitaries and hundreds of others, rockets rained on the south as promised, while celebrations were widespread in Gaza. What a thoughtful way to honor a man that gave land for peace, which continues to elude those who desire it most.
Many would prefer to remember Ariel Sharon as Israel's lifelong defender. His life dedicated to its military, 19-year-old Sharon fought for Jerusalem with the Haganah in 1948, embarking on dangerous missions that saw many casualties. He sustained serious injuries during Israel's War of Independence and served in the IDF's Golani and Paratroopers Brigades, fighting in the Suez Crisis, the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War.
Rest in peace, Arik.
Ariel Sharon
1928-2014
No comments:
Post a Comment