Waking up to a new reality

A fortnight later, and the fatigued figure of Omri Sharon emerges from his father's bedside to thank the medical team for their skill and dedication and Israelis for their outpouring of concern and good wishes.
The media frenzy camped outside Jerusalem's Hadassah Medical Center has reported every moving finger, hand and foot as and when it happened. While it's still too early to speculate on the damage the prime minister has sustained, what's clear is that there is now a very different reality in the Middle East.

With the noted exception of some in the Arab world, no one is keen to discuss a world without Ariel Sharon. However, after six years of dominating Middle Eastern politics, one can't but help ask how this part of the world will look like from here on.

Those who feared that the country would fall to pieces have been shushed by a democratic process that has done the State of Israel proud. While Captain Olmert does his best to keep the Good Ship Kadima afloat, the stock market is continuing to ride high. Things here rarely grind to a halt except of course for the conversations on the buses when the driver notches up the volume for the news.

So, where and to whom will Israel look to now for leadership? Maybe the past holds the key to the future; the long and rich list of talented leaders of the State of Israel should inspire hope, but it's also important to remember that so many of our past leaders were shaped by history.

In the early years of the state, it's doubtful that very many Israeli's made the career decision for a life of politics as many in the West do today; and as Ariel Sharon told the United Nations in a memorable post-disengagement speech, "I am at heart a lover of agriculture, I had always intended to be a farmer." A youth spent fighting in the Haganah and three successive wars for survival later and we can start understanding the Ben-Gurions, Rabins and Arik Sharons of this world.

It would be sad to suggest that the country needs to fight another bloody war to produce another generation of leaders, but, that being said, Israel's next prime minister - be it Ehud Olmert, Benjamin Netanyahu or someone else entirely - will have the significant problem of an Iran bent on developing nuclear weapons sitting dangerously near its doorstep.

Should Hamas trump the Palestinian elections as many think they will, the good old days of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations will be over. Hamas have declared that should they achieve a convincing win next week, Israel will find that unilateralism is not so much a controversial choice, but rather, the only choice. It's easy at least to see where the challenge lies, but less easy to see who will ride Israel through the storm.

The very name 'Kadima' - Forward was indicative of a prime minister who saw his ideas as being inherently pro-active within what he saw as a stagnating political arena. With at least a third of the country resolved that they had no better ideas, and were happy to support the one man that did, many Israelis will now realize the extent to which they had absolved themselves of the need to make decisions on key issues.

Sharon's unilateralism may well endure beyond his tenure, even if that means more disengagements. As the old saying goes, "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem,' and in being so bold with his hands-on approach to governing the county's future, Israeli voters may not be willing to accept anything else.
And so, with, the Palestinians on the verge of openly electing an organization that calls for the destruction of the Jewish State in every forum save its official platform, and an Iran baying at Israel's door, it may be time for the leaders of Israel to tell the people of Israel something that they will not want to hear: that it's time to hunker down. The struggle will be long and difficult, and for the time being the idea of peace in our time may have to be shelved.

In coming days, along with what we hope is more encouraging news of our prime minister's condition, it's clear that Ariel Sharon is not the only who will be waking up to a new political, and strategic reality.