Sharon's animated political life

September 7, 1973

In the days of the founding of the Likud, which united several right-wing movements, initiated by Ariel Sharon and led by Menachem Begin, the journalist Shlomo Nakdimon described the establishment of the new party as a complicated front of personal relationships and conflicts of interest.

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Sharon crowning Begin (Yedioth Ahronoth archive)

December 1974

Sharon was elected as a member of Knesset in the new party of Likud in December 1973, after the Yom Kippur War, but just a year later he resigned and returned to the IDF.

Sharon sitting on an Egyptian army tank; the Israeli economy telling Sharon: You're hurting morale. Rabin in the background with a "Down with Begin" sign (Yedioth Ahronoth archive)

June 1975

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin appointed Sharon to be his general affairs consultant. Defense Minister Shimon Peres and IDF Chief of Staff Mota Gur said they were doubtful Sharon would be successful. The claim at the time was that Rabin used the appointment to downplay Peres, and Rabin said he had become too popular for his liking.

Peres and Gur on the left, Rabin and Sharon on the right (Yedioth Ahronoth archive)

April 1982

A day before this political cartoon was published, activists of Peace Now hassled a Nahal Brigade ceremony in protest that it was being held over the Green Line. At a reform Judaism movement outpost, soldiers blocked the activists access to the ceremony and a small skirmish transpired during Defense Minister Sharon's speech.

Justice; Sharon spraying away Peace Now activists, letting settlers free (Yedioth Ahronoth archive)

June 1982

The IDF was making its way to Beirut during the First Lebanon War. It made to Beirut in six weeks, putting it under siege with most of it being captured and the airport being destroyed. There were 368 IDF soldiers and more than a thousand PLO terrorists killed.

Begin and Sharon lifting up the Lebanese cedar (Yedioth Ahronoth archive)

July 1984

The British media reported that Scotland Yard was investigating Israel's relations with Nigeria after two Mossad agents were arrested for allegedly kidnapping the Nigerian transportation minister in a crate. At the same time there were claims that the Likud was trying to hide Sharon at all costs, who had become the symbol of the failure of the Lebanon War, trying to keep his public profile low.

Israeli export: "How do you know that this is Arik Sharon?"; The Likud sitting on a Nigerian crate (Yedioth Ahronoth archive)

April 2001

A month after being elected prime minister, Sharon was forced to wake up and understand that he couldn't bend the reality to his wishes , Yedioth columnist Eitan Haber wrote.

"It doesn't fit," the peace and security puzzle (Yedioth Ahronoth archive)

August 2005

The day before the end of the withdrawal from Gaza. Ministers Limor Livnat, Yisrael Katz, Dan Naveh, Uzi Landau, Effi Eitam and Tzachi Hanegbi, who opposed the plan, couldn't bring Sharon down.

The impenetrable Sharon (Yedioth Ahronoth archive)

August 2005

Benjamin Netanyahu resigned from Sharon's government due to the Gaza withdrawal plan. He said that he feared a terror center being established in Gaza, while others claimed that he resigned for political gains.

Netanyahu throwing an elections bomb to Sharon (Yedioth Ahronoth archive)

August 2005

A survey after the Gaza withdrawal said 54% of Israelis wanted a peace plan and were willing to remove settlements from the West Bank. There was 68% in support of removing illegal outposts.

Sharon removing bricks (Yedioth Ahronoth archive)

August 2005

Days after the Gaza withdrawal.

Sharon sending Netanyahu and his rebellion scrolls packing (Yedioth Ahronoth archive)