Lion in winter

Like many people, I always assumed the first line of Ariel Sharon's obituary would center around his responsibility in the massacre of civilians at a Palestinian refugee camp in 1982; and his deliberately provocative visit to the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem that many say was one of the sparks for the Palestinian intifada.

One an act of criminality; the other cynical political calculation of the worst kind.

But in 2001 Israeli voters elected 'Arik' prime minister--and everything changed. It didn't happen all of a sudden, but over the past five years, Sharon, much like Yitzhak Rabin before him, has gone from a tough, brutal general to a statesman.

I count Rabin as one of the great leaders of our time; his 1995 assassination was a tragedy from which the Middle East has only recently begun to recover. Sharon isn't at his level, but his recent pullout from Gaza, and his plans for pullbacks in the West Bank, boded well for his continued development. As did his formation of his own party, freeing him from the Likkud party's historic burden of hawkishness.

And now... it's a Shakespearean tragedy, Israel's two recent great leaders cut down as they appeared on the verge of historic, irreversible change.

But I have faith in Israelis. Surrounded by hostile neighbors, they nevertheless continue to try--there are a lot of things wrong with their policies, but underlying the nation, like ours, is the premium they place on debate. Ideas matter, and can make a difference on the ground.

Israelis keep hoping against hope that their worst fears won't be realized, that they too can one day be a normal nation like any other. They could crush all of their adversaries... but instead, they talk and shout everything out. And their leaders evolve, when blessed with time; even someone who spent his entire career about as right-wing as you can get has the space to change his policies, to open his eyes and shift his entire political philosophy.

Sharon is still fighting for his life Wednesday night; unlikely as it might seem, millions of Palestinians are praying for him tonight, along with their Israeli brothers. But ultimately, it seems like it will be a losing battle, among the few this warrior has failed to win.

Will the torch now pass to Shimon Peres, Israel's perennial bridesmaid? Or will Benjamin Netanyahu surprise us all, like Sharon did once upon a time.

Graphic image from BBC's Israel's Generals documentary.