Leaders of the world, who for many years viewed Ariel Sharon as a hard-line
right-winger to be shunned, eulogized him warmly on Saturday, praising him for
his commitment to the country’s security and for the risks he was willing to
take for peace.
US Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement
saying that “Sharon’s journey was Israel’s journey; the dream of Israel was the
cause of his life, and he risked it all to live that dream.”
Kerry said
he remembered reading about Sharon as a young lawyer in Boston and “marveling at
his commitment to cause and country. I will never forget meeting with this big
bear of a man when he became prime minister, as he sought to bend the course of
history toward peace, even as it meant testing the patience of his own longtime
supporters, and the limits of his own lifelong convictions, in the process. He
was prepared to make tough decisions because he knew that his responsibility to
his people was both to ensure their security and to give every chance to the
hope that they could live in peace.”
Kerry acknowledged the differences
the US had with him over the years, but said that regardless of whether you
agreed or disagreed with him, “you admired the man who was determined to ensure
the security and survival of the Jewish state.”
Kerry said Sharon, in his
later years, “surprised many in his pursuit of peace, and today, we all
recognize, as he did, that Israel must be strong to make peace, and that peace
will also make Israel stronger. We honor Arik’s legacy and those of Israel’s
founding generation by working to achieve that goal.”
Former US president
George W. Bush, in the White House when Sharon served as prime minister and
someone who developed a close relationship with Sharon, issued a statement
saying he was “a warrior for the ages and a partner in seeking security for the
Holy Land and a better, peaceful Middle East.”
Quartet envoy Tony Blair,
who served as Britain’s prime minister when Sharon held that office in Israel,
called Sharon “a monumental figure in the history of the State of Israel, who
dedicated his life to the country he loved. I worked closely with him, and even
when we did not always agree, I remember and respect his determination to do
what he thought was right for the people of Israel, sometimes at a great
personal price.
“He was a fascinating man who stood firm and unbowed in
the face of political difficulties,” Blair said. “Although he was a farmer and
agriculturalist at heart, his legacy in Israeli politics is enduring and his
place in Israel’s history everlasting.”
Blair ended his statement with
the Hebrew words “Yehi zichro baruch” (“May his memory be for a
blessing”).
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Sharon met a number of
times as a prime minister, called Sharon an “outstanding statesman and military
commander.”
According to a statement put out by the Kremlin, Putin
praised Ariel Sharon’s “personal qualities and his activities to protect
Israel’s interests, noting a high respect for him among compatriots and his high
authority in the international arena.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov is expected to come to Sharon’s funeral.
UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon said Sharon would be remembered for his “political courage and
determination to carry through with the painful and historic decision to
withdraw Israeli settlers and troops from the Gaza Strip. His successor faces
the difficult challenge of realizing the aspirations of peace between the
Israeli and Palestinian people.”
Former US president Bill Clinton, whom
Sharon met as foreign minister, said in a joint statement with his wife, former
secretary of state Hillary Clinton, that “Sharon gave his life to Israel – to
bring it into being, to sustain and preserve it, and at the end of his long
service, to create a new political party committed to both a just peace and
lasting security.”
Clinton said “it was an honor to work with him, argue
with him and watch him always trying to find the right path for his beloved
country.”
Chancellor Angela Merkel, who became Germany’s leader a month
before Sharon’s first stroke in December 2005 and never met with him as prime
minister, said that “with his courageous decision to withdraw the Israeli
settlers from the Gaza Strip, he took a historic step on the path to a deal with
the Palestinians and a two-state solution.”
British Prime Minister David
Cameron, who also never met Sharon as prime minister, called him “one of the
most significant figures in Israeli history, and as prime minister he took brave
and controversial decisions in pursuit of peace.”
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