FOCUS

Ariel Sharon offered his view of the.
Lebanon War during a lecture at
Tel Aviv University in August.

The 'New' Ariel Sharon

Israel's most feared political
leader appears to be seeking a
new image in hopes of becoming
prime minister

HELEN DAVIS

Israel Correspondent

erusalem — Ariel Sha-
ron has put himself on
a strict diet. These
days, he wakes up to a
breakfast of fresh fruit and a
spoonful of honey in a glass of
hot water.
Sharon, however, is in-
terested in more than merely
shedding his abundant cor-
pulence and transforming his
physical image; he is now
engaged in a major effort to
change his political image,
too.
The former defense min-
ister, Who designed and en-
gineered Israel's disastrous
adventure in Lebanon, has
his work cut out.
Idolized by a large mass of
working-class Israelis as the
authentic Israeli leader —

j

"Arik, King of Israel" —
Sharon is demonized by
Israel's intelligentsia who
fear thatlis strong-arm style
and his overweening ambi-
tion represent a serious
threat to Israel's democracy
and to the the system of
values on which their country
is based.
Earlier this month, Sharon
characteristically entered the
lion's den — the hallowed
halls of academia — to deliver
his own version of the
Lebanon War, a war which
left 650 Israelis dead, 3,000
injured and a deep scar on the
national psyche.
The thrust of his address
was that he did not act alone,
as the media (and some
former cabinet colleagues)
suggested; that he did not
"hijack" the cabinet, seeking
approval only after military
actions were irrevocably

underway or actually accom-
plished.
The cabinet, he said, was a
full partner in the prosecu-
tion of the war. It had not on-
ly been kept fully informed of
all developments, but had
also approved all key orders.
He should not, he insisted, be
held solely responsible.
The uproar that followed
could not have been encour-
aging for a politician engaged
in a process of self-cleansing
and rehabilitation.
Nevertheless, it was a
necessary rite of passage for
Sharon, now Israel's Trade
Minister, who does not regard
his present portfolio as the
crowning achievement of his
career and who senses that
his opportunity to realize a
far grander ambition may
soon be at hand.
It also begins to answer the
question why, for the past
year, Sharon has been work-
ing quietly and assiduously to
dispel the fears and to
moderate his image.
He has eschewed the media,
avoided political controversy,
performed diligently at the
Trade Ministry and emerged
as the peacemaker within his

faction-ridden Likud Party. In
all that time, he has not
allowed himself a single tour
of a single open-air market,
where he is always assured of
an ego massage by an adula-
tory crowd. When he speaks
these days, it is in careful,
measured tones.
So great is Sharon's self-
abnegation that it is begin-
ning to generate concern —
and no small degree of suspi-
cion — among his myriad
detractors who are showing
signs of missing the frequent
media jousts with the man
they love to hate.
What is he up to? Can
Israel's strongman have
undergone a sudden change
of heart?
Typically in the Jewish
state, the answer seems to be
yes and no. Ariel Sharon still
wants — intends — to be
prime minister. He still ex-
presses himself firmly on
West Bank settlements,
Israel's security, the Lavi
fighter plane and other bread-
and-butter Likud Party
issues.
But another Sharon is
emerging from behind the old
image of bluster and cun-

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