The first serious public attack from within Likud ranks on Premier Menachem Begin’s self-rule plan for the West Bank and Gaza Strip was launched by the Premier’s former advisor on Arab affairs, Dr. Moshe Sharon, who resigned from his post last week. In an interview published in Maariv, Sharon contended that autonomy would establish the basis for a future Palestinian state and would promote defection among Israel’s half million Arab citizens.
At the same time, he flayed the government for failure to alleviate the “feelings of frustration, discrimination and alienation” among Israeli Arabs, especially the educated youth. Sharon, who comes from an old established Sephardic family in Haifa and was a history scholar at the Hebrew University, was appointed Arab affairs advisor by Begin shortly after the Likud government took office in 1977. His political outlook is hawkish although he has eschewed extremist views.
According to Sharon, “Autonomy is a very dangerous thing for Israel. It is likely to bring down disaster upon us. I have no doubt that this is the kernel of a Palestinian state which Israel is in affect helping to create,” he told Maariv. He complained that,” the Premier never asked my opinion on the subject. Even more serious, he never asked my opinion regarding what effect the autonomy scheme would have on Israel’s Arabs.”
Sharon said he is convinced with “the most certainty, beyond any shadow of doubt (that) if the autonomy should arise, extremist tendencies will develop among Israel’s Arabs….They are concentrated in the areas bordering the autonomy (zones)….I see as a likelihood the formation of on Arab political party that will demand that the Israeli Arabs and their areas of residence be attached to the autonomy” zone.
According to Sharon’s scenario, Israeli Jews of extreme doveish views would join such an Arab party and its natural focal point would be the Egyptian Ambassador to Israel–order the terms of a peace treaty. The separatist demands in effect a return to the “partition plan” lines of 1947, would become an international issue and the pressure on Israel would steadily grow.
GAP BETWEEN JEWISH, ARAB CITIZENS
Sharon accused the government of promoting a “vast gap” between Israel’s Jewish and Arab citizens. He singled out the inadequacy of educational facilities in Arab population centers, which, he said, were short more than 2000 classrooms and burdened by an antiquated curriculum which did not give a fair chance to those Arab youths capable of advancing to the universities.
Sharon said there was no use in avoiding the fact that even young Arab intellectuals who are law-abiding citizens are hostile to Israel and will remain so. It is pointless to “run away from the reality” and unrealistic to expect that the symphonies of the Arab minority will change, he said.
“But we must have control, or at least influence, over its readiness to live as law abiding citizens. A citizen who is frustrated, discriminated against, alienated, has no motivation to be law-abiding and is a ready target for extremist provocations,” Sharon warned.
HAD DEVISED A BLUEPRINT FOR CHANGE
He said that he had devised a blueprint for change but to date it had not been given a hearing, let alone adopted by the Cabinet. His proposals include mandatory non-military national service for all Israeli Arab youths whose right to a university education would be contingent on its fulfillment. He also urged widespread industrialization of Arab villages. It is unhealthy, Sharon said, for Arab villagers to travel daily to Jewish towns and settlements to work in Jewish factories for Jewish bosses. The government, therefore, should encourage the development of Arab industries.
He said the immediate reason for his resignation was that the post of advisor on Arab affairs had become obsolete and unnecessary. He urged that a Cabinet minister be made responsible for coordinating the policies of all ministries in the Arab sector.
Sharon said Begin had always been ready to hear him out but did not always act on his advice. He said that he had urged the Premier to embark on a dramatic peace initiative toward Egypt during the fall of 1977 because his own studies had persuaded him that Egypt was ready to make peace with Israel. Begin had said “we will find an opportunity.” But he did nothing, and in the event President Anwar Sadat “moved first earning the plaudits of the world,” Sharon said.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
