Ariel Sharom and Ehud Olmert

Submitted by Yehuda Sherman (United States), Dec 23, 2003 at 17:26

Harry Truman once said something about it not being possible to satisfy two opponents at the same time. Sharon cannot tell the Israelis and the Muslim Arabs two different messages at the same time. Also, his Deputy PM, Ehud Olmert, has publicly given the message to the Arabs that terrorism WILL cause the Jews to retreat. Sharon and Olmert have demonstrated what is called "failure of nerve," a lack of belief in the rightness of one's cause, or what is also called "shtetl mentality," i.e. trying to appease the persecutor in the hope that he will stop persecuting.

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