On February 26th, 1928, exactly 95 years ago, the State of Israel’s 11th Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, was born. Like many former Israeli generals, Sharon decided to enter the world of politics and he joined center-right Liberal Party, where he played a major role in forming the Likud political party. Over his political career, Sharon rose as a political advisor, Knesset member, and held both titles of Minister of Agriculture and Defense.
Originally, Sharon’s family name was Scheinerman, and like many Israelis, he Hebraized his name in the early years of the state in solidarity of the re-invigoration of the Jewish Homeland. Growing up, Sharon spent his early years as a participant in the secular, socialist Labour Zionist movement and in the Haganah, the underground Zionist militia. The latter he joined at the age of just 14! Sharon climbed up the ranks and became a decorated soldier in the defense of the Land of Israel.
One of the highlights of Sharon’s career was in late May 1967 when Egypt remilitarized the Sinai Desert and declared a blockade against Israeli ships passing through the Strait of Tiran. Sharon proposed to the chief of staff of the time, Yitzhak Rabin, that the IDF military should take a preemptive defensive strike against Egypt’s building to immediate threat. A few days following, Israel was faced with one of the greatest military feats in modern history with the victory during the Six-Day Way. Sharon himself commanded a major armored division that swept across the Sinai desert with few casualties and earned the title of military hero.
Happy Birthday, 11th Prime Minister of Israel Sharon. May your contributions and dedication to the State of Israel be remembered by the generations to come.
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