Why We Shouldn't Really be Surprised at Ariel Sharon's Unorthodox Financial Situation

By Eddie Taylor

NEW YORK (PalestineChronicle.com) - There hasn't been too much scope for schardenfraude during the reign of Ariel Sharon. His ability to deflect, ignore, sidestep and refute the mountain of accusations about his criminal activities when general in Israel's army (Qibya, Sabra, Shatilla, Jenin, Gaza City; we all know the list by now) has stupefied the authors of the charge sheet laid against him. The fact that Israel is now drawing map of countries that senior officials, such as Lieutenant General Shaul Mofaz, should avoid for fear of prosecution is of scant consolation to those who live under permanent fear of IDF slaughter.

So it is with a great pleasure that the world can now witness the increasing discomfort and, one hopes, political implosion of the Israeli leader as his financial affairs finally reach the light of day.

Tax evasion for Al Capone, a parking ticket for Son of Sam, and now vote buying and improper loan guarantees for the serial war criminal.

Of course, it doesn't take too much digging to find that our Ariel has a history of dubious connections.

One of Ariel's earliest financial backers and purchaser of the Negev desert ranch he still calls home, is Meshulam Riklis. Riklis, now honorary chairman of the Jewish Republican Coalition, was also the main influence behind the young Sharon's decision to abandon the army and enter politics in 1973. Riklis was described by Ha'aretz in December 2001 as one of Israel's most prominent mafia operatives, while Forbes magazine has repeatedly unveiled his resume of unscrupulous asset stripping, deliberate foreclosing and subsequent creditor ducking.

Then there is Betsalel Mizrahi, another prominent mobster. The links to Sharon go way back to the 1970s, when the agriculture minister was conducting the notorious West Bank land-grab policies that facilitated illegal private purchases of Arab lands for the purpose of creating Israeli enclaves. This was achieved through real estate companies that, if the Jeffrey Steinberg's investigations are to be believed, are little more than fronts for Israeli organized crime.

Another of the proposed key players in the development of West Bank land was Max Fisher, the self-styled Jewish-American philanthropist. Interestingly, in 1978, at the height of Sharon's settlement push, one of Fisher's companies was United Brands. Drug enforcement agencies in the US claimed at the time that United's fleet of ships was the vehicle for one fifth of all cocaine imports from South America into the United States. Fisher, of course, still meets with Sharon today, providing financial support to fulfil the stated aim to import more than one million former Soviets (Jewish or otherwise) into Israel and the West Bank within the next 10 years.

Israel's extradition laws, or lack thereof, coupled with the automatic citizenship to any Jew (one grandparent counts) wherever they may have previously resided, has meant that the Jewish homeland has become something of a beacon for corrupt businessman fleeing legal proceedings. And many of them have, how shall we say, "come into contact with" Ariel Sharon. Former Knesset member and forged-art collector Sami Flatto-Sharon (no relation, at least in the familial sense) didn't like having to pay tax in France and, once in Israel, immediately began sharing several "business" contacts with the sainted leader - the
aforementioned Betsalel Mizrahi included.

Hopefully, it will take more than a cabinet reshuffle to save Sharon this time. If not, one wonders the degree of conviction the Israelis can proclaim Yasser Arafat an unsuitable partner for peace. After all, corruption and terror seem to be the very qualities you need to lead the "only democracy in the Middle East."

Eddie Taylor is the Managing Editor of http://www.profilemagazines.com  

[Palestine Chronicle (palestinechronicle.com).]