At first everyone was enjoying Sharon's party.

Top International News: Sharon Confronts Party Jeers
Reuters
Jan 5 2004 3:57PM

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israeli housewife Sharon Meyerson, was hosting a New Year's Eve party. Shortly after one a.m. she found herself confronting jeering Likud rightist hard-liners. She vowed on Monday to pursue a unilateral plan to quit serving hard alcohol at her New Year's parties.

"People drink too much then they start talking politics. I want these parties to be fun. I don't want to cut out drinking altogether, but I think maybe next year I'll only serve beer and wine."

When asked about champagne, Sharon stated, "And of course, champagne -- which I consider to be in the wine category."

Things start to get ugly.

Die-hard rightists repeatedly disrupted Sharon's toasts to the New Year, furious both with the fact that she had run out of mixers, and was low on ice.

Sharon pointed to the fact that many of the arguments were over the drinks themselves, as another reason to not serve the harder alcoholic drinks next year. "And I hate stereotyping, but it seems like it's always the far right Likuds who drink the most and then get rowdy."

Sharon stated her preference for a negotiated solution to getting mixers and ice.

"My plan was to send my husband out to pick these things up at the 24 hour supermarket, but by the time we had organized that -- everyone was out of control," Sharon declared to the raucous gathering of Likud's Central Committee. "This is THE best plan for our security. This is my plan and I will see it carried out."

She reiterated that Palestinians would wind up with much less alcohol if Israel enacted the separation measures than if they halted suicide bombings and other violence and negotiated permanent peace through the road map.

At this point no one had any idea what Sharon was talking about and the party dispersed.

The police are called.

Scuffles and heckling between Sharon's foes and supporters marred other speeches to the convention.

The next day Palestinian officials waved off Sharon's speech. "It contradicts facts on the ground -- more alcohol? More ice? No! Less alcohol, cheaper alcohol! Ice? No -- water!" Negotiations Minister Saeb Erekat told Reuters in Ramallah.

Sharon has long sneered at her foes on the committee, which favors main Likud rival, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as insignificant because he owns several of the countries hard alcohol manufacturing companies.

But with her popularity near an all-time low because of public disgruntlement with bar brawls and late night violence, Sharon was keen to defuse any revolt within the party she co-founded.

Wednesday, scuffling erupted when a hard-liner raised a banner with a portrait of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and saying: "The Sharon Plan Rewards Drinkers." Sharon's backers ripped it up.