Washington — I don’t envy Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Keeping a political, military and economic act together at the age of 75 is an almost unimaginable burden. Being responsible for the security of a tiny nation in such a dangerous neighborhood is not a task for the faint-hearted.

Beset by internal and external pressures daily, Sharon must rely on an inner calm and dedication forged by a unique life experience that mirrors Israel’s modern history. While no one could have predicted only a few years ago that “Arik” would be Israel’s prime minister, who would have predicted 60 years ago that by the end of the past century there would be a Jewish state established as a military and economic power in the Middle East?

That reality is the good news. The bad news is that most of the Arab world is still not reconciled to Israel’s existence and that Israel’s well being is increasingly dependent on the United States.

These two overriding considerations explain why Sharon’s balancing act is so incredibly difficult and why his policies and statements are so readily criticized by the extremes of the Right and the Left. Too many friends of Israel permit their (justifiable) emotional reactions to Palestinian terrorism to cloud a more rational analysis of current realities.

Right now Sharon is playing the only cards dealt to him by an American administration that has taken on the thankless (and, frankly, hopeless) task of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Others have also tried and failed.

President Bush, like his predecessors, is “entitled” to pursue his vision of peace for the Middle East. Today, however, there is a difference.

The issue involved here is not the conclusion of peace treaties between Israel and neighboring Arab countries, but establishing peaceful relations with Palestinians who live in the midst of Israel’s historic homeland and whose towns are intermingled with Israeli communities.

If you add the new phenomenon of suicide bombers and the limited space between the Mediterranean and the Jordan, what you have is a true mission impossible that poses unprecedented challenges to Israel’s leaders.

Assuming the purest of intentions to Palestine Liberation Organization “apparatchik” Abu Mazen, it should be clear by now that he cannot act decisively without Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat’s consent. That wily godfather of modern terrorism still controls most of the funds and the security forces while enjoying the homage of European leaders.

Unfortunately, Arafat has also controlled the working agenda of the “road map.” The major issues discussed have been the terrorist organizations’ reluctant approval of a “hudna” (and we must recall the temporary and opportunistic nature of this ceasefire) and release of Palestinian prisoners.

No one is talking much about the road map’s call for disarming the terrorists and dismantling their infrastructure. Security Chief Muhammad Dahlan and Abu Mazen have publicly eschewed use of force against Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and one doubts the efficacy here of friendly persuasion.

So what the Palestinians are essentially offering is a temporary stop to killing (too many) innocent Israelis, while building up their own battered forces, in exchange for Israel emptying its prisons of murderers, handing over security control of more territory and releasing impounded revenues.

The shortsighted “advice” Sharon gets from the Bush administration is to take concrete actions to bolster Abu Mazen with Palestinian public opinion by making serious concessions. At the same time, Israel has been publicly chastised by Secretary of State Colin Powell for its pre-emptive strikes on terrorists and admonished by National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice for erecting a fence to protect its civilians.

In effect the United States, Sharon’s major (and only) ally, is asking Sharon to desist from both offensive and defensive actions to protect Israel’s citizens in order to keep the road map viable.

It doesn’t get better for Sharon at home either. Israel’s economy remains in recession. Shimon Peres has again resumed leadership of the Labor Party and seems to have learned little from the failures of a decade of “peace processing.” Sharon is being attacked within his own Likud Party for his talk of eventually accepting a Palestinian state (with limited sovereignty), and the prospect of abandoning some settlements.

Thus, to say that these are really tough times for an Israeli prime minister is to understate the obvious.

What Israel’s more rational friends can do now, beyond sympathizing, is support Israel’s leaders in their objective to preserve close relations with our own country while maintaining its stated policy of putting security first.

We must realistically assess how much freedom of action any Israeli government could have in the current international climate, and given President Bush’s stake in the success of his efforts.

If there is a simple, clear-cut solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we have yet to hear it. A complete military defeat of the Palestinian terrorist and rejectionist forces by Israel would still leave the question of what to do with 3 million Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

King Abdullah of Jordan has been astute enough to align his Hashemite Kingdom with the interests of the United States. Therefore, “Jordan is Palestine” is not realistic or necessarily desirable.

What can only work is for Israel to continue to be as receptive as it can to American concerns while still maintaining the security of its citizens. This appears to be Sharon’s goal — which is why his is an unenviable role.

Morris J. Amitay is a former executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.