Sharon’s Popularity Rising Among the Public, Waning in the Cabinet

Although the popularity of Defense Minister Ariel Sharon has been rising among the public, there has been an erosion of support for him in the Cabinet, according to press reports.

Mark Segal, political correspondent of the Jerusalem Post, said critics of Sharon’s actions in Lebanon comprise about one-third of the Cabinet members now compared to only two ministers when the fighting began June 6.

Premier Menachem Begin himself is reported to be expressing criticism of some of Sharon’s proposals and has blamed him if only obliquely and not by name, for deliberately leaking news of American plans to send troops to Lebanon to oversee the withdrawal of the Palestine Liberation Organization forces from west Beirut. According to press reports here, Sharon’s intention was to reduce the extent of American involvement in dealing with the PLO.

Usually well informed observers say that Sharon would be happy to see an all-out assault on the PLO in west Beirut, to help his “grand design” of installing Phalangist leader Bashir Gemayal as President of Lebanon in the September elections. Sharon has frequently said that the best solution for the “Palestine question” would be for the PLO to take over Jordan after ousting King Hussein. Some Israelis maintain that Jordan is, in fact, a Palestinian state.

INFIGHTING WITHIN LIKUD, LABOR

Political infighting within Begin’s Herut Party and the Likud alliance, as well as within the government coalition, is paralleled by infighting within the opposition Labor Party. Opposition from Labor’s rightwing majority has been growing against the “liberal leftwing anti-war faction” led by MK Yossi Sarid and, more recently by former Chief of Staff Gen. Mordechai Gur who is now described as the major “anti-war spokesman.”

The hardliners within Labor, including MKs Chaim Herzog, Dov Ben-Meir, Jacques Amir and others, say that the leftwingers are harming Labor’s chances in the next elections and should be muzzled or not allowed to speak in the name of the party.

PRO-GOVERNMENT RALLY PLANNED

Meanwhile, American film stars Danny Kaye and possibly George Segal are being pressed into service to help swell the crowd at a pro-government and anti-Peace Now rally to be held in Tel Aviv Saturday night.

According to Hoaretz, Kaye will be the main attraction at a rally under the banner: “Peace for the Galilee, Peace for Israel, Thanks to the army.” It is hoped that a quarter of a million people will attend. The rally will be opened by Tel Aviv Mayor Shlomo Lehat, a member of Likud. Begin and Sharon might attend, the paper said. The rally is being organized by representatives of the government coalition parties to reply to the recent Peace Now rally attended by an estimated 100,000 people.