SHARON

Haaretz: Sharon's Perception Of Time

"At the behest of Sharon's careful, incremental method, thousands of Israelis and Palestinians have been killed or injured over the past year; masses have fallen below the poverty line; billions of dollars have been squandered; hatred has mounted; and the demographic threat has increased."

Disturbingly, there's at least one indication that Ariel Sharon really thinks time is on his side: The prime minister clings to his belief that "a million Jews" will immigrate to Israel, and defuse the demographic threat to the Jewish state. Nary a meeting with wealthy, visiting Jews goes by without Sharon preaching to his guests about immigrating to Israel.

The troubling thing is that when a leader believes time is on his side, he has no reason to try to change reality. Yitzhak Shamir, who was sure the passage of time would strengthen the vision of Greater Israel, formulated the doctrine this way: "In the end, the Arabs will get used to the situation."