No Referendum

Ariel Sharon won a major victory by defeating a bill in the Knesset to put the Gaza withdrawal to a plebiscite. His margin of victory - 72 to 39 - was big enough for the withdrawal to proceed now with more confidence than before. A last-minute appeal to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef* failed to sway the aging Shas patriarch, and most of the religious votes stuck with Sharon in opposition.

* Rabbi Yosef is the subject of one of my favorite "news" pieces of all time, from the 2000 election.