February 13, 2004

"The Law Can Wait for Sharon"

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has announced the withdrawal of Israel from most, if not all, of Gaza, and his opponents in his own party and in the parties to the right are lobbing anger and invective against him. Worst of all, they are accusing him of making his Gaza withdrawal announcement as a smokescreen against possible indictment for bribery. His opponents have every right to argue against withdrawal, but not to argue with political dirt-throwing, which is always counterproductive.

No one is above the law, but there are rare occasions when a greater justice supersedes a lesser justice. Years back, my family lived in a small community near a hospital. On our street were the homes of a number of physicians connected to the hospital. A few houses down from us lived a surgeon, an immigrant, and his family. We came to know and respect this devout Christian who, with his family, showed respect toward us and the other Jews in the community. One day I asked him to operate without fee on a young impoverished yeshiva student, and he said, "Of course."

I waited with the yeshiva student's family in the hall outside the operating room. This was a to be a six hour procedure and an arduous one. Midway through the surgery, two well-dressed men appeared. They were federal agents who came to serve a subpoena to the surgeon. The FBI was investigating him as an alleged member of an organized crime family. The agents insisted that he step out of the operating room in order to be served. A nurse appeared and told the agents that they would have to wait until the operation was over. The agents were adamant. "We have to serve him now." The nurse left and must have called the head of the hospital who arrived shortly afterwards, accompanied by several physicians and an attorney. They argued, but to no avail. Finally, the patient’s mother approached the agents and said, "No one is above the law, but in the face of life and death, the law can wait." The agents left in a huff. The doctor was later exonerated.

I am not Sharon’s judge and neither are the Jewish newspapers nor his political opponents. If he's indicted, only the men and women of the Israeli courts will be his judges. But we should all know this: Israel’s Prime Minister is in the midst of a battle for the survival of the Jewish people. These are critical times, and an indictment or a public investigation of Sharon could endanger Israel’s physical well-being.

The police should have waited before making the investigation public. Other Israeli Prime Ministers faced similar accusations when in office, and except for Yitzchak Rabin, they were exonerated. Even Rabin, who was forced to resign when it was discovered that his wife had an illegal American bank account, later returned to office.

At this moment, Sharon is the surgeon and the Jewish nation is the patient whose life is threatened by terrorism. Arab terrorists have successfully generated a new anti-Semitism around the world. Their murderous acts are not limited to Israel, but reach Turkey’s synagogues, New York’s World Trade Center, and Washington’s Pentagon. The same gang dances with glee to the tune of, “We told you so, Sharon is a criminal.”

The Gaza withdrawal needs to be debated, but without political dirt-throwing. Few of us will ever agree with Yossi Beilin, but he raised a valid point when he asked what Israel will get in return from withdrawing now from Gaza. Barak’s withdrawal four years ago from Lebanon without negotiations or exchanges demonstrated a weakness that precipitated unprecedented criminal terror against Israelis. But the case now against withdrawal from Gaza could well be lost in the mire of invective against Sharon.

To invalidate political leaders because of personal allegations contradicts the will of the electorate. Like all people, political leaders are innocent until proven guilty, and this is their sanctuary against possible injustice. At this writing, Sharon has not yet been indicted, and certainly not convicted. He is not above the law, but he does deserve respect as Israel’s chosen political leader, and as one who, in the past, led Israel to lifesaving victories in critical wars.

Shabbat Shalom