Letters to the Editor

The end of the Sharon era Once despised by a generation of Israelis, Ariel Sharon became a venerated father figure. His passing from the political scene leaves the future of the Middle East in even greater doubt. By Aluf Benn [2006-01-07]

• Monster indeed

  I notice that Mr. Pincus has chosen not to respond to the Qibya massacre. I can only assume from this that he feels that slaughtering one village of women and children is just funnin'.

  Or perhaps he feels that there's a statute of limitations on atrocities? I'm sure there are Nazi war criminals who'd be happy to hear that.

  I'm not inclined to respond to all of Mr. Pincus' overheated defense of Ariel Sharon. Let me just explode a couple of his points:

  1) On the subject of the murder of Prisoners of War in 1956, a typical report is found in Coastal Post online, at the following URL -

  http://www.coastalpost.com/02/05/06.htm

  A relevant quote is excerpted here.

  "In 1956, Ariel Sharon was one of two commanding officers in the Sinai, at that time a highly volatile area. As commander of the paratroopers, he oversaw operations that killed 273 Egyptian prisoners of war in the Sinai in 3 separate incidents. Some of the dead were lined up and shot in a quarry, others in a closed truck while others were shot as they ran in retreat."

  In addition, there's the Jewish News Weekly, Mideast Report, Friday, August 1995, which states:

  "Earlier this month, a Jerusalem weekly quoted a retired IDF general as saying that he had killed dozens of Egyptian prisoners of war captured after an Israeli offensive in the Sinai Peninsula during the war. Retired Gen. Arieh Biro said his troops were stranded behind Egyptian lines with more than 40 Egyptian prisoners when they were given the order to move south in the Sinai. "I didn't have soldiers to guard them," he reportedly said. "We had to move on to Ras Sudar, so I decided to liquidate them." Biro's commanding officers at the time were Ariel Sharon, a Likud Knesset member and former defense minister, and Rafael Eitan, a Tsomet member of the Knesset and a former IDF chief of staff."

  The URL is:

  http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/1709/edition_id/27/format/html/displaystory.html

  Other renditions or reports connecting Sharon to executions of Prisoners of War can be found at multiple sources. A google search of the terms "Sharon", "1956", and "Prisoners of War" turns up 16,900 reports.

  The uncovering of the incidents apparently caused a major diplomatic rift between Israel and Egypt.

  I will take it that this point is absolutely settled now to Mr. Pincus' satisfaction.

  2) Turning now to the Massacres of Saba and Shattilla, I do not propose to give quotes or URL's. The incidents are extremely well documented.

  The background is briefly thus: Israel invaded Lebanon, a country which it was not at the time at war with and which posed no threat to it. Approaching Beirut, Israel laid siege. Sharon agreed to a peace accord negotiated by Philip Habib of the United States.

  The peace agreement consisted of several important components: a) Israel would not occupy west Beirut; b) The PLO Fedayeen - their armed militia, would leave Lebanon; c) Israel would guarantee the safety of the civilians, the women and children remaining in the refugee camps.

  Unfortunately, the leader of the Christian Phalangists was assassinated. On November 18, 1982, Sharon publicly blamed the PLO for the assassination. Sharon then proceeded to occupy west Beirut. And then, Sharon handed over control of the refugee camps to the Christian phalangists, after it was well understood that they were out for revenge, and after he had helped to stoke that revenge. In essence, the wolves were let loose upon the hens.

  The massacres occurred over two consecutive days. Israeli troops and Sharon were well aware of what was going on during those two days. The Israeli command was located in a four story building which had an excellent view of one of the camps.

  The incident sparked outrage in both Israel and around the world. 400,000 Israeli's demonstrated against the atrocity in the streets of Tel Aviv. Israel struck a formal commission of inquiry, in which Ariel Sharon was held "personally responsible."

  There is no question whatsoever of Sharon's role and complicity in creating the conditions for the massacre and setting it in motion.

  I can respect Mr. Pincus' overheated dedication to his causes, and to the defense of Israel. Israel, however, is not at issue here. Mr. Sharon is the issue.

  Mr. Pincus offers outrage and evasion. I think he would be better served by taking the time out to research the facts. It does no one credit to make excuses for monsters.

  -- Den Valdron
  Permalink Flag Sunday, January 8, 2006 05:48 PM
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