The Golem

Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel

1928Born in Kfar Malal, Israel to a German-Polish father and a Russian mother, both committed Zionists and part of the settlements movement.

1942 At the age of 14, he joins the Haganah, a precursor to the Israeli Defense Force.

1953 Joins Israeli army Unit 101 as a Major and participates in a series of daring raids on refugee camps and villages that force many Palestinians to flee their homes. In October, Sharon leads an attack on the village of Qibya in Jordan. Under his command, Israeli soldiers move about the village blowing up buildings, firing into doorways and windows, and throwing hand grenades. They kill 69 civilians, mostly women and children. He later claims that he believed that the demolished houses had been empty of inhabitants, but according to the UN observer who inspected the scene, "One story was repeated time after time: the bullet splintered door, the body sprawled across the threshold, indicating that the inhabitants had been forced by heavy fire to stay inside until their homes were blown up over them." After the U.N. issues a resolution condemning the attack, Sharon is officially reprimanded but is allowed to remain in the army.

1956 During the Suez War, Sharon, commanding a parachute brigade, sends his paratroopers into the Mitla Pass in the Sinai desert. Four of his junior officers accuse him of sending men to their deaths for his own glory. He incurs the displeasure of Moshe Dayan and is suspended for breach of discipline.

1971 Under the euphemistic title the "Pacification of Gaza," Sharon, as head of the IDF's southern command, imposes a brutal policy of repression: blowing up houses, bulldozing large tracts of refugee camps, imposing severe collective punishments and imprisoning hundreds of young Palestinians. He is denied promotion to chief of staff because government officials infer in him a disregard for human life. He has no further promotions before retiring from the military in August 1973.

Oct 6, 1973 He is called back to duty during the Yom Kippur War, and is assigned to command a reserve armored division. Acting in defiance of official orders, he leads his troops in throwing a bridge over the Suez Canal and striking far behind Egyptian lines. Later in a military tribunal, his actions are defended as militarily effective and as contributing to the end of the war.

1982 As Defense Minister under Menachem Begin, Sharon masterminds the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, which he dubs "Peace for the Galilee." He sends tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers across the border to fight their way up the Lebanese coast. They eventually occupy Beirut. Heavy Israeli sea, air and land bombardment devastate a substantial portion of Lebanon. By the end of July, the Lebanese government states that at least 14,000 people have been killed - over 90% unarmed civilians. August 12 becomes known as Black Thursday after a massive artillery barrage lasting over eleven hours kills some 500 Lebanese and Palestinian civilians. The U.S. intervenes, negotiating an evacuation of PLO troops from Beirut on the condition of international protection for the civilians in the region and on the understanding that Israel will not enter Beirut. Two days after the protection forces withdraw, however, Sharon begins an incremental advance into Beirut, besieging refugee camps along the way.

Sept 16-18, 1982 Sharon's troops allow Lebanese Christian Phalangists to enter the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. While Israeli army personnel watch through binoculars, death squads spread unchallenged through the camps. Entire families are murdered, and many are raped and tortured before being put to death. Palestinian sources estimate at least 2000 people are killed.

1983 After international outcry, Israel forms an official enquiry commission which finds Sharon indirectly responsible for the massacre and he is forced to resign.

May 1999 Sharon assumes leadership of the Likud Party on the election of Ehud Barak.

Sept 28, 2000 Protected by 1500 Israeli troops, Sharon brazenly enters the Al Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site of Islam after Mecca and Medina, and provokes a Palestinian uprising.

Feb 2001 Sharon is elected Prime Minister of Israel by a wide margin. Some attribute his victory to Israeli reaction to the Palestinian intifada which he himself incited.

2001-present Sharon orders the razing of Palestinian homes throughout the West Bank and Gaza; assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, and the isolation and imprisonment of Yasir Arafat, forcing a change of leadership in the PLO. He sponsors the building of a concrete wall eight meters high with razor wire, sniper towers, trenches and electric fences. The wall cuts deeply into the West Bank in order to protect illegal Israeli settlements but without regard to Palestinian access to food, water, employment or family relationships.