SHARON'S SHADOW LOOMS OVER ISRAEL !
Sharon's shadow looms over Israel
By Katya Adler BBC News, Jerusalem.
After a difficult year, many Israelis look back at Sharon with nostalgia The man known as the "the bulldozer" has been in a coma for a year.
Ariel Sharon, bullish in manner, stature and politics, fell into a coma after suffering a massive stroke. He has never regained consciousness and is not expected to.
TV and radio stations across Israel are running special programmes on the 12 months since Mr Sharon's sudden disappearance from politics.
It is regarded by many Israelis as annus horribilis.
We cannot know what would have happened had Sharon stayed with us. But one thing is sure, he became a father figure.
Commentator Daniel Ben Simon
"If Sharon woke from his coma today, he would be shocked and disappointed," Dan Bielski, senior news editor at Kol Israel radio station.
"We've had a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, which went very badly, Hamas is running the Palestinian government, here in Israel there are constant corruption scandals.
"Not to mention Israel president and justice minister, suspected of sex crimes."
Internet Poem
Israel's media are having a field day with a poem posted on the internet by an anonymous blogger in which Ariel Sharon regains consciousness but decides to go back to sleep after hearing of the state of his country and the fact that he is no longer prime minister.
The whole political party that Olmert is leading was created by Ariel Sharon. I consider Olmert as a bad student of Sharon, this is the only difference
WissamGaza resident
In Israel today, Ariel Sharon may be absent from public life but he has left a legacy.
He founded the political party Kadima just over a month before falling into a coma.
Opinion polls at the time suggested it would easily win Israel's upcoming parliamentary election.
But things turned out rather differently. Without Mr Sharon at the helm Kadima won only narrowly. Its new leader, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is seen as fighting for his political life.
Rockets
Zeev Boim followed Ariel Sharon, by abandoning the right-wing Likud Party to form Kadima.
"We miss Ariel Sharon and we would prefer if he was still with us and continuing to lead us," he says. "But as a politician and member of the government I need to look forward."
Ehud Olmert sits next to Sharon's empty seat at the cabinet table.
But the leader of Likud, Binyamin Netanyahu, a long-term rival of Ariel Sharon and also a former prime minister, says 2006 proved Mr Sharon got his politics wrong.
"The things that we said before the election, such as Iran being a threat, were initially discounted but are now accepted by the public as common wisdom," he says.
"We also warned of rockets in the north from Hezbollah and in the south from Gaza. The public says who is right and who is wrong and if Ariel Sharon was around today he would have to revise his positions because eventually reality knocks."
No change
Changing political tack was something Ariel Sharon became famous for.
Previously seen as the champion of Jewish settlers on land claimed by Palestinians, he pulled them and all Israeli soldiers out of the Gaza Strip in summer 2005.
A year later, Israeli troops were back after one of their corporals was captured by Palestinian militants.
In Gaza City's Deleece Cafe, students Wissam and Walaah say their frustration remain the same, whoever governs Israel.
"The whole political party that Olmert is leading was created by Ariel Sharon," says Wissam. "I consider Olmert as a bad student of Sharon, this is the only difference. It's like coffee today, coffee tomorrow."
Walaah adds that Israel's "policy is the same even if the face has changed".
Care Home
Both loved and hated - first as a career soldier, then a politician - the comatose Ariel Sharon is now viewed nostalgically by many Israelis as a sleeping giant.
That, according to the political commentator Daniel Ben Simon, is keeping the country from moving on.
"We cannot know what would have happened had Sharon stayed with us," he says. "But one thing is sure he became a father figure.
"Unfortunately, now Israelis need to see a funeral in order to see the end of Sharon. As long as there is no funeral there will be a longing for Sharon."
Ariel Sharon is now in a care home in Tel Aviv.
Israeli law makes it essentially impossible to switch off life support machines but doctors say it is extremely unlikely Ariel Sharon will ever regain consciousness.
By Katya Adler BBC News, Jerusalem.
After a difficult year, many Israelis look back at Sharon with nostalgia The man known as the "the bulldozer" has been in a coma for a year.
Ariel Sharon, bullish in manner, stature and politics, fell into a coma after suffering a massive stroke. He has never regained consciousness and is not expected to.
TV and radio stations across Israel are running special programmes on the 12 months since Mr Sharon's sudden disappearance from politics.
It is regarded by many Israelis as annus horribilis.
We cannot know what would have happened had Sharon stayed with us. But one thing is sure, he became a father figure.
Commentator Daniel Ben Simon
"If Sharon woke from his coma today, he would be shocked and disappointed," Dan Bielski, senior news editor at Kol Israel radio station.
"We've had a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, which went very badly, Hamas is running the Palestinian government, here in Israel there are constant corruption scandals.
"Not to mention Israel president and justice minister, suspected of sex crimes."
Internet Poem
Israel's media are having a field day with a poem posted on the internet by an anonymous blogger in which Ariel Sharon regains consciousness but decides to go back to sleep after hearing of the state of his country and the fact that he is no longer prime minister.
The whole political party that Olmert is leading was created by Ariel Sharon. I consider Olmert as a bad student of Sharon, this is the only difference
WissamGaza resident
In Israel today, Ariel Sharon may be absent from public life but he has left a legacy.
He founded the political party Kadima just over a month before falling into a coma.
Opinion polls at the time suggested it would easily win Israel's upcoming parliamentary election.
But things turned out rather differently. Without Mr Sharon at the helm Kadima won only narrowly. Its new leader, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is seen as fighting for his political life.
Rockets
Zeev Boim followed Ariel Sharon, by abandoning the right-wing Likud Party to form Kadima.
"We miss Ariel Sharon and we would prefer if he was still with us and continuing to lead us," he says. "But as a politician and member of the government I need to look forward."
Ehud Olmert sits next to Sharon's empty seat at the cabinet table.
But the leader of Likud, Binyamin Netanyahu, a long-term rival of Ariel Sharon and also a former prime minister, says 2006 proved Mr Sharon got his politics wrong.
"The things that we said before the election, such as Iran being a threat, were initially discounted but are now accepted by the public as common wisdom," he says.
"We also warned of rockets in the north from Hezbollah and in the south from Gaza. The public says who is right and who is wrong and if Ariel Sharon was around today he would have to revise his positions because eventually reality knocks."
No change
Changing political tack was something Ariel Sharon became famous for.
Previously seen as the champion of Jewish settlers on land claimed by Palestinians, he pulled them and all Israeli soldiers out of the Gaza Strip in summer 2005.
A year later, Israeli troops were back after one of their corporals was captured by Palestinian militants.
In Gaza City's Deleece Cafe, students Wissam and Walaah say their frustration remain the same, whoever governs Israel.
"The whole political party that Olmert is leading was created by Ariel Sharon," says Wissam. "I consider Olmert as a bad student of Sharon, this is the only difference. It's like coffee today, coffee tomorrow."
Walaah adds that Israel's "policy is the same even if the face has changed".
Care Home
Both loved and hated - first as a career soldier, then a politician - the comatose Ariel Sharon is now viewed nostalgically by many Israelis as a sleeping giant.
That, according to the political commentator Daniel Ben Simon, is keeping the country from moving on.
"We cannot know what would have happened had Sharon stayed with us," he says. "But one thing is sure he became a father figure.
"Unfortunately, now Israelis need to see a funeral in order to see the end of Sharon. As long as there is no funeral there will be a longing for Sharon."
Ariel Sharon is now in a care home in Tel Aviv.
Israeli law makes it essentially impossible to switch off life support machines but doctors say it is extremely unlikely Ariel Sharon will ever regain consciousness.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
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