It's No Accident

Sharon was a criminal, and I will not be among those mourning his approaching demise. At the same time I am not one of those sentimentalists who believes that only the pure of heart can achieve peace and justice -- if Sharon had been the instrument for achieving this through a "Nixon in China" moment, then that would have been alright with me. But let's not kid ourselves: that's bullshit. The Gaza "withdrawal" was really just a redeployment, the ongoing injustice in the West Bank runs deep and is getting worse, and to say that Sharon looked good in comparison to the nutjob settlers and their political spokesmen (of which Netanyahu has become the foremost) is to say almost exactly nothing. The "roadmap," if it succeeds, means a temporary, relative respite in the level of violence even as injustice continues. It is no solution.

Those who believe in Sharon's redemption may take comfort in that illusion, but it remains that: an illusion. Facts are stubborn things.