‘What have you been doing while I was away?’

JERUSALEM: The same day an uneasy truce took effect in the Lebanon war, doctors treating former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reported a sharp deterioration in his condition as he lay comatose in a Tel Aviv hospital.   

It was another stark reminder to Israelis that as Sharon slips away, his legacy is fading as well.   

Only last year, he was winning international accolades for Israel’s Gaza withdrawal, relative quiet prevailed on the northern border and there were signs of a diplomatic thaw with enemies in the Muslim world.

Now Israel is coming out of an inconclusive war against Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, its forces are back fighting in the Gaza Strip and moderate Arab neighbours are offering little but condemnation.

“If Sharon comes out of his coma, he’ll ask ‘My God, what have you been doing while I was away?’”, said Uzi Benziman, author of Sharon: An Israeli Caesar.

Israel had never before fought a war against its Arab neighbours without Sharon in the front lines or in command. As a military man and a politician, he helped forge Israel’s doctrine of strategic deterrence, a guarantee to exact an extremely high price from anyone who attacked the Jewish state.   

Critics say this pillar of Israeli defence has been undermined by Hezbollah’s ability to withstand a five-week onslaught. “As long as Sharon remains alive, it will not be too late for the politicians and media people to apologise to him,” Dan wrote in the Jerusalem Post.