Teenager’s outspoken accusations causes stir for Sharon

JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ehud Barak's campaign may have finally gotten the boost it was waiting for Monday, but from an unlikely source: Ilil Komai, a 16-year-old high school student in Beersheva.

Komai stunned front-running prime ministerial candidate Ariel Sharon when she accused him on a routine campaign stop at her school of causing her and her father grave suffering by dragging Israel into the Lebanon War.

"Ariel Sharon, I, Ilil Komai, am the daughter of Tzvika Komai, who was a soldier in the Lebanon War," she began to applause in the crowded auditorium. "My father, like many others, was in the war and saw many of his friends killed. My father, whom I very much admire, recovered from shell-shock without drugs. Ariel Sharon, I accuse you of having caused me suffering for more than 16 years. I accuse you of having caused my father suffering for more than 16 years. I accuse you of many things, because you caused a great deal of suffering to many people in this country. I don't think that you can now be elected prime minister, Ariel Sharon."

After her statement, Komai asked Sharon what he intends to do as prime minister "beside asking forgiveness from all those who suffered in battle."

Sharon replied that Komai was incorrect in blaming him for the war, when he suggested removing troops from Lebanon in 1982.

"If suffering was caused to your father or to you, I suggest transferring the blame to those to whom they should be transferred," Sharon said. The decision to enter Lebanon was made in December 1975 by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister Shimon Peres, he said.

Sharon's campaign chairman, Likud Knesset Member Silvan Shalom, denied that Komai's statements shook the campaign.

He accused the Barak campaign of orchestrating the affair, noting that Komai chairs a pro-Barak organization in her school and that she had met with Absorption Minister Yael Tamir, a friend of the family, prior to the event.

Komai's father declined to answer questions about his daughter's statements, saying only that "she has a lot more guts than me."

The Barak campaign said it will consider using Komai, who became an instant celebrity in Israel, in future television commercials.

The Sharon campaign had already been reeling from an interview Sharon gave The New Yorker magazine in November, prior to his candidacy. He called Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat "a murderer and a liar. He is our enemy, and he is a bitter enemy," and said there was no chance to make peace with the Palestinian leader.

In an interview with the same reporter last week, Sharon spoke in a much more moderate tone, using the word "peace" several times and offering hope for reaching a solution with the Palestinians.

Barak's people drew a contrast between the November-model Sharon and the January one, saying Sharon had been influenced by his campaign strategists.

Sharon's remarks were "regrettable and unrealistic," Barak said. "The Palestinians, whether we like them or not, are the partner with whom we must reach a settlement.

Sharon responded to questions about the interviews by saying, "I think we all know who Arafat is" and "I will sit with Yasser Arafat because he is the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, but on condition that there is quiet and security."