At the beginning of the year, FPA blogs each announced a “Person of the Year,” with abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit obtaining the title from the Israel Blog. Ha’artez took it one step further and held a “Person of the Decade” contest.
For that “honor,” the Israel blog selected former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for establishing a leading political party that dominated the Israeli electoral landscape, withdrawing from the Gaza Strip to effectively create two Palestinian states, and signing onto the Road Map that has become the framework for peace.
Ha’aretz is a great publication that often includes ground breaking news. However, in the Ha’aretz poll, I will arrogantly say that readers got it wrong. The top ten is:
- Former President George W. Bush
- Sharon
- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
- Osama Bin Landen
- President Barack Obama
- Shalit
- President Shimon Peres
- Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
- Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah
- Bernie Madoff
Ok, my pick got second. Bush did have a substantial impact on the Middle East. He launched an attack on Iraq, threatened Iran, relaunched the peace process, and focused U.S. foreign policy against radical Islam. Israelis were very supportive of Bush, noting that he attacks Israel’s enemies. But, did he have more of an impact than Sharon? I don’t think so, mostly because the withdrawal from Gaza completely changed the security and Palestinian political dynamic in an extremely tangible way, unlike the more tangential influence of Bush.
I also have qualms about two of the top ten selections. Obama is certainly influencing the Middle East right now by announcing a pull out of troops from Iraq and his continued pressure on Israel to halt settlements and restart the peace process. But, he’s been in office for only a year and to label the 2000’s the decade of Obama is simply premature.
Similarly, placing Bernie Madoff in the coveted top ten list is absurd. He swindled money from thousands. But, his influence remains significantly more limited than others, such as Fed Chair Ben Bernanke, for example.