Alleged Sharon Quote

[Daoloth]

Did Ariel Sharon really say the following?

“Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that . . . I want to tell you something very clear: Don’t worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it.”

• Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, October 3, 2001.

I’ve seen that many a times on other message boards, and I’m towards the boiling point. When asking for cites, I often get “Do a web search for the quote, you’ll get lots of cites.” Ugh. Naturally, this is quite a loaded quote. So what’s the Straight Dope?

[caracal]

I did a search on google for the exact phrase"Don’t worry about American pressure on Israel" and came up with 460 instances of this quote. However, they all seem to be on either other forums (now this one too I guess ) or from Pro-Palestinian or otherwise anti-semitic sights. One was called “whiteamerica.com”, if that tell you anything. If this statement was verified I would think it would be carried by the major media outlets around the world.

[chula]

The quote is all over the web, but mostly on white supremacist and similar sites. I did a Lexis search, and the only mention I found in any publication were a series of letters to the editor in the Omaha World-Herald in early November.

Why is it that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s statement to Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has not been widely reported? Sharon said: “Every time we do something, you tell me Americans will do this and will do that. I want to tell you something very clear: Don’t worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it.” (Israeli Radio, Qol Israel, cited in Washington Report, Oct. 3, 2001.)… Bruce J. Malina

…The answer is that it is difficult to believe that any Israeli leader could be so stupid as to say, “We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it.” Mr. Malina uses a very suspect source, the Washington Report of Oct. 3. The Washington Report is a monthly magazine influenced by Andy Kilgore, who had been U.S. ambassador to several Arab countries. This magazine provides the most obsessive pro-Arab and anti-Israeli reading in the United States… It seems that Mr. Malina has a visceral hatred for Israel. But to pretend that his source is truthful and unbiased is on a par with the National Enquirer discussing Hillary Clinton’s affair with space aliens. Max I. Bittner

Once again, Creighton theology professor Bruce Malina has been smeared by a pro-Israel writer. Malina cited a quotation attributed to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon… Bittner scoffed, claiming the statement came from “a very suspect source.”…The fact is, neither Bittner nor I know whether Sharon said it. But it’s easy to imagine him saying it… A knowledgeable official assured me that Malina’s solid scholarly reputation extends far beyond Creighton. Sometimes smears backfire. James C. Rippey Sr.

Bruce Malina complained that the media had not reported Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s remark… The answer is simple: It was not reported because Sharon never said it. Although the rumor was circulated by extremist Web sites, when presented to the Israeli Cabinet secretary, it was officially denied. Sadly, this vicious attack is but the latest example of Malina’s long-standing effort to malign Jews and Israel. If he cannot control his hatreds, at least he should get his facts straight. Steven J. Riekes

I hope this helps.

[curwin]

Israel has a very critical press, and I can tell you that having lived in Israel during October 2001, and not having heard that quote printed in every paper, I think it is unlikely that it happened.