For most of his speech, Mr. Sharon maintained his usual stoic stance, rarely varying from his script. But when the hecklers, spread throughout the auditorium, continued to shout, Mr. Sharon paused and smiled as he acknowledged the disturbance. When Mr. Sharon finished, James S. Tisch, the chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, apologized for the interruption. He told the audience, "The noisy minority does not reflect the view of the vast majority of American Jews." But a beaming Mr. Sharon seemed almost delighted by the show of opposition, saying that the outburst proved that "one cannot defeat the Jews."

He said it several times too. Rick Brookhiser:

Did Ariel Sharon, on his visit to New York, 1) encourage American Jews not to assimilate and 2) urge them to make aliyah? If Bush went to Israel and said, you wouldn't have any of this intifadah if you all moved to America, would that be thought boorish?

Of course he encouraged American Jews not to assimilate. That's been one of the main themes of Jewish leaders since Moshe Rabbenu. Why else do you think we are still around after 3500 years? Of course he encouraged American Jews to make aliyah. He's also encouraged European Jews to make aliyah. If he ever goes to Australia, I'm sure he'll encourage Australian Jews to make aliyah. He is not the first Israeli PM to do so. It is - theoretically - the destiny of the Jewish people to end up in Eretz Yisrael. Eventually, when Moshiach comes.

In the meantime, the diaspora's relationship with Israel will be fluid, as it has been since the Babylonian Exile. This has nothing to do with the intifada; the Bush analogy is not equivalent. As one of the other speakers pointed out, many ethnic groups in America keep strong ties to their countries of origin. We consider this benign when they are instigators of political and economic progress in their home countries, for example, Indian-, Iraqi-, and Iranian- Americans.

UPDATE: Apparently Sharon also appeared at an AIPAC conference in DC. Glowing report here, with interesting tidbit on Hillary Clinton. (Those who have been reading KT for awhile will know I am am not surprised.) Sharon was more dour in NYC than he is described here, but as noted above, had a sense of humor about himself.

UPDATE: Another report of the speech, particularly about two of the disruptors, a respected Orthodox couple from Elizabeth, NJ, who got choice seats via connections with one of the machers running the event (who is mortified at their behavior).