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Ariel Sharon, the eleventh Prime Minister of Israel, spent many years in the Israeli Defense Forces before being elected in March 2001.
Ariel Sharon ( Hebrew: אריאל שרון; born February 27, 1928), is a long-serving Israeli political and military leader, and has been the current Prime Minister of Israel since March 2001, the eleventh holder of that office. As such, he is also leader of Likud, the largest party in the governing coalition of political parties in the Israeli Knesset (parliament). He was born Ariel Scheinermann, and is also often known by his nickname Arik.
Sharon is a controversial figure both inside and outside Israel, attracting diverse and often polar views. Many Israelis and supporters of Israel regard Sharon as a strong leader battling terrorism. However, critics, particularly in the Arab world, refer to him as "the Butcher of Beirut" and have sought his prosecution as a war criminal. A number of Israelis and foreign observers believe that his recent efforts have been damaging to the peace process.
1 Early years
Sharon was born Ariel Scheinermann in 1928 to a German- Polish father and Russian mother in Kfar MalalTown in Israel, birthplace of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. village located in the territory then known as British Mandate of PalestineThe British Mandate of Palestine was a swathe of territory in the Middle East, formerly belonging to the Ottoman Empire, which the League of Nations entrusted to the United Kingdom to administer in the aftermath of World War I. Establishment of British Le. In 1942Events January January 1 World War II: The word " United Nations" is first officially used to describe the Allied pact. January 2 World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces. January 5 Amy Johnson disappears in flight over River Thames estuary ass, at the age of 14, he joined the HaganahThe Haganah (Hebrew: "Defense") was a Zionist military organization in Palestine during the British mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948. The Haganah later became the Israel Defense Forces Israel's army. Origins The predecessor of Haganah was the Ha-Sho, the Jewish military precursor to the Israeli Defense Force. At the creation of Israel (and Haganah's transformation into the Israel Defense Force), Sharon was a platoon commander in the Alexandroni Brigade. He was severely wounded in the Second Battle of Latrun but his injuries healed. In 1949, he was promoted to company commander and in 1951 to intelligence officer. He then took leave to begin studies of history and Middle Eastern culture at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. A year and a half later, he was asked to return to active service in the rank of major and as the leader of the new Unit 101.
Unit 101 undertook a series of retaliatory raids against Palestinians and neighboring Arab states that helped bolster Israeli morale and fortify its deterrent image. However, the unit was also criticized for targeting civilians as well as Arab soldiers, resulting in the widely-condemned Qibya massacre in the fall of 1953, in which more than sixty Jordanian civilians were killed in an attack on their village. Investigations later determined that the order to maximize casualties was not given by Sharon himself but by one of his superiors. Shortly afterwards, Unit 101 was merged into the 202nd Paratrooper Brigade (Sharon eventually becoming the latter's commander), which continued to attack military targets, culminating with the attack on Kalkiliya Police in autumn 1956.
Sharon has been married twice. Shortly after becoming a military instructor, he married his first wife, Margalith, with whom he had a son, Gur.
Margalith died in an auto accident in 1962 and Gur died in October 1967 after being shot while playing with his father's rifle. Upon Margalith’s death, Sharon married her younger sister, Lily. They had two sons, Omri and Gilead. Lily Sharon died in 2000.
