October 24, 2011
New biography of Ariel Sharon
A new book on Ariel Sharon, written by his son, Gilad, will appear in English and Hebrew tomorrow.
According to a story in Ha’Aretz, Gilad Sharon has been working on the book, titled Sharon: The Life of a Leader, for the past four and a half years.
Most incredibly, Gilad told The New York Times last week that his father, who suffered a debilitating stroke almost six years ago and has remained in a coma-like state ever since, responds to requests to move his fingers and has put on weight even though he is fed intravenously.
In the book, Sharon writes that Israeli doctors urged Gilad and his brother, Omri, to let their father die shortly after the stroke in January 2006 because the CT scan appeared to reveal lethal damage. Gilad said he and his brother insisted on an operation and other measures to keep their father alive.
The Times article states that the Israeli public has long assumed that Sharon remained alive because of his sons’ actions but the book is “the first public acknowledgment and detail of the decision.”
Sharon, a military hero who spent much of his career on the right, was an upset winner when he was elected prime minister in 2001.
He surprised many people when he decided to withdraw unilaterally from Gaza in the summer of 2005. Sharon had been viewed as a supporter of the settler movement prior to that decision.
According to the Times article, Gilad Sharon takes credit for the idea of leaving Gaza, saying he told his father it was impossible to protect the settlers there and that the Israeli public did not want to pay to hang onto the territory.
As for the current prime minister, Gilad apparently has lots to say about him also. The book has several unflattering passages about the elder Sharon’s dealings with Binyamin Netanyahu, including one where the former reportedly called the latter a liar because he reneged on a promise to make Sharon finance minister.
It may not be surprising to hear that rumors about Gilad Sharon going into politics began circulating after he joined his father’s political party, the centrist Kadima, last January.
He told the Times that he’s still contemplating his next step.