Sharon's Legacy -- Hebrew -- long

Drawing on Marx's analysis of the rise to power of Louis Bonaparte, in this (Hebrew) article I analyze Ariel Sharon's rise to power in 2001 and the policies pursued by his government until his incapacitation in 2005. Sharon was elected Prime Minister due to a deadlock in the struggle between the Jewish bourgeoisie and the Jewish working class: the former succeeded in pushing through profound neo-liberal reforms, which seriously harmed the economic interests of the latter, while the latter were able to stymie the former's pet political project – the Oslo peace process. Sharon kept, and enhanced, this duality, waging renewed war on the Palestinians and shattering the Israeli welfare state, thus ensuring the support of both social classes. At the end of 2003 he made another turn – announcing his intention to withdraw from Gaza, he succeeded in (mis)branding himself a man of peace, consolidating the support of the Jewish bourgeoisie and gaining popularity among the Western political class.