Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive, life-threatening stroke Wednesday and underwent lengthy surgery to drain blood from his brain after falling ill at his ranch. Powers were transferred to his deputy, Ehud Olmert.Doctors placed Sharon on a respirator and were trying to save his life only hours before the hard-charging, overweight, 77-year-old Israeli leader had been scheduled to undergo a procedure to seal a hole in his heart that contributed to a mild stroke on Dec. 18.
Israel Radio quoted an unidentified Israeli health official as saying that Sharon's prospects of a full recovery were slim.
Israeli PM Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive Stroke
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive, life-threatening stroke Wednesday and underwent lengthy surgery to drain blood from his brain after falling ill at his ranch. Powers were transferred to his deputy, Ehud Olmert.
Doctors placed Sharon on a respirator and were trying to save his life only hours before the hard-charging, overweight, 77-year-old Israeli leader had been scheduled to undergo a procedure to seal a hole in his heart that contributed to a mild stroke on Dec. 18.
Israel Radio quoted an unidentified Israeli health official as saying that Sharon’s prospects of a full recovery were slim.
Sharon’s cerebral hemorrhage, or bleeding stroke, came at a time of upheaval among Palestinian factions in Gaza and in the midst of both Israeli and Palestinian election campaigns. Sharon’s absence would halt momentum toward further peacemaking with the Palestinians and leave a major vacuum at the head of his new Kadima party, which was expected to head a government after the March 28 vote.
In a written statement, President Bush praised Sharon as “a man of courage and peace,” saying he and first lady Laura Bush “share the concerns of the Israeli people … and we are praying for his recovery.”
Israeli Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger called on Israelis to read Psalms and pray for Sharon. “We are very, very worried,” he said, and prayed for “mercy from Heaven.”
Pan-Arab satellite television broadcasters beamed out largely straightforward, nonstop live coverage from outside the hospital where Sharon — a particularly despised figure among many Arabs — struggled for his life.
A radical Palestinian leader in Damascus, the Syrian capital, called the stroke a gift from God.
“We say it frankly that God is great and is able to exact revenge on this butcher. … We thank God for this gift he presented to us on this new year,” Ahmed Jibril, leader of the Syrian-backed faction Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, a small radical group, told The Associated Press.
Speaking to reporters outside the hospital, Sharon aide Raanan Gissin warned Israel’s enemies: “To anyone who entertains any notion to try and exploit this situation … the security forces and IDF (Israeli military) are ready for any kind of challenge,” he said.
But a Palestinian commentator on the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya network offered Sharon unexpected praise as “the first Israeli leader who stopped claiming Israel had a right to all of the Palestinians’ land,” a reference to Israeli’s recent withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
“A live Sharon is better for the Palestinians now, despite all the crimes he has committed against us,” said Ghazi al-Saadi.
Sharon’s personal physician said early Thursday that he expects Sharon to emerge from surgery “safely.”
“The prime minister is currently in surgery, it is proceeding properly,” said Dr. Shlomo Segev. “We need to wait patiently. I expect him to emerge from it safely.”
But Channel 2 TV said the prime minister was suffering from paralysis in his lower body, and medical experts who have not examined Sharon said chances are slim for a complete recovery.
“It’s among the most dangerous of all types of strokes,” with half of victims dying within a month, said Dr. Robert A. Felberg, a neurologist at Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans.
“The fact that he’s on a respirator means it’s extremely serious,” said Dr. Philip Steig, chair of neurosurgery at Weill-Cornell Medical Center in New York.
Dr. Larry Goldstein, director of Duke University’s stroke program, said much depends on the extent, location and duration of the bleeding.
“Bleeding in some areas of the brain, if it’s caught early enough, you can actually have not a bad outcome,” he said.
Sharon was put in an ambulance at his ranch in the Negev Desert after complaining about feeling unwell. The stroke happened during the hourlong drive to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, Dr. Shmuel Shapira of the hospital told Channel 10 TV.
Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director of Hadassah Hospital, said Sharon suffered “a significant stroke,” adding that he was “under anesthetic and receiving breathing assistance.” A few minutes later, Mor-Yosef emerged to say that initial tests showed Sharon had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, or bleeding in his brain.
Mor-Yosef said Sharon had “massive bleeding and was being transferred to an operating theater.”
Shapira that Sharon was taken to an operating room to drain the blood after suffering what he termed a “massive stroke.” Israeli TV said the operation would likely take several hours.
Doctors checking Sharon late last month said he weighed 260 pounds at the time of the first stroke but had since lost more than six pounds and was otherwise in good health. Sharon is about 5-foot-7.
The prime minister had been taking blood thinners since the first stroke to prevent another clot, but such drugs also raise the risk of cerebral hemorrhages, which account for only about 10 percent of strokes. Other possible causes are ruptured blood vessels, an aneurysm, or bulge in a vessel wall that bursts, or even chronic high blood pressure.
Blood thinners may not have caused the latest stroke but could have made the bleeding worse and may account for its severity, Steig said.
Security agents and police spread out around the Jerusalem hospital before Sharon arrived, setting up a security perimeter. Later, they surrounded Olmert’s residence in Jerusalem.
Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon said Sharon’s authority was transferred to Olmert because the prime minister was under general anesthesia. Olmert was to lead a special Cabinet session on Thursday. Under Israeli law, he will serve as acting prime minister until Sharon can resume his powers.
On Dec. 18, Sharon was taken to Hadassah Hospital from his office after suffering the mild stroke. Doctors said he would not suffer long-term effects, but they discovered a birth defect in his heart that apparently contributed to the stroke.
Sharon had been scheduled to check into the same hospital Thursday for a procedure to repair a tiny hole between the upper chambers of his heart. Doctors said the blood clot that briefly lodged in Sharon’s brain last month, causing the mild stroke, made its way through the hole and from there to a cranial artery.
Sharon first came to prominence as an army officer, setting up a unit that fought Palestinian infiltrators in the 1950s. Advancing through the ranks of the army, he served as commander of the Gaza region after Israel captured the territory in the 1967 war, launching punishing raids.
After serving in the 1973 Mideast war, Sharon left the military and entered politics, forging the hardline Likud Party, which came to power in 1977.
As defense minister, he directed Israel’s ill-fated invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and was forced to step down by an Israeli commission of inquiry, which found him indirectly responsible for a massacre of Palestinians in two refugee camps by Christian Phalangist soldiers.
Sharon re-emerged as prime minister in 2001, and two years later he reversed his course of decades of support for Jewish settlement construction and expansion in the West Bank and Gaza, promoting a plan for unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and part of the West Bank. The pullout was completed in September.
The withdrawal fractured his Likud party, and he left it to form Kadima with a platform of seeking a compromise for peace with the Palestinians. He was putting together a list of candidates for the parliamentary election when he fell ill Wednesday.
In the March 28 election, Sharon had been expected to face off against Netanyahu, the tough-talking former prime minister who recently won the Likud primaries, and Amir Peretz, the union leader who recently unseated veteran Israeli politician Shimon Peres as head of the liberal Labor Party.
None of Sharon’s possible successors was seen as having his ability to pull together the next ruling coalition.
niss
thats what happens when you do what he did by the gaza withdrawal
Menachem Mendel
Nonetheless, a Jew he is and we must all pray for his immediate and complete recovery. As part of his refua, pray that he should get back to his sences!
mottel
ariel ben dvorah we can all agree thet the rebbe would want we should daven for him.
shayna
He may be a jew, but for what he did he is definately chayev misah without a question!!!
I’m sure there are plenty of people, not just arabs, praying that he should not get better!
Abrasha!!!
The rebbe never hated another jew whoever it might be!!
Ad Mosai
lol true true!
ditto
Ditto to Menachem Mendel
We can’t play G-d, but interesting that just the day before (Tues), the gov’t sent in these goon/police to Chevron to give notice of evacuations there.
As you said, he should have a COMPLETE refuah shlaima (Maybe he will have an out of body experience, and see the truth)
ditto
Something else just occured to me – if this was so directly related to the expulsions (I will not soften the name to evacuation, etc), it should have been BEFORE the terrible actions. He is definitely responsible, but Klal Yisroel had an opportunity to stand up for itself, and show Hashem how much we want Eretz Yisroel and show support for our brothers. Some factions of Yidden failed at that… (Sorry for this slightly off topic comment)
girl
Does everyone remember what the Rabbonim in Israel said about him before these poor jews were thrown out of Gaza?? Think about it… I have zero rachmonos for this guy. My mind wanders to those poor parents that lost their children on those buses. g-d forgive me.
sr41
G-d desides who shall be punished – us people must pray for his recovery.
Refua shleima
chs
Nothing is coincidence, everything is hashgacha pratis. Nevertheless, we must have ahavas yisroel, and daven for the complete and total refuah shleima of ariel ben devorah, refuah shleimah of body and mind.
MFH
the valid points have been made already. we can’t play g-d.
Refuah Shleimah.
sydney!!!
lets not forget how close he was to the rebbe . and the rebbe showed him so much kiruv…. saved his life…. He should defenetly have refuah shlaima bekaruv mamash (just he shouldint be in charge of any politicle partys.
zalman
look hes a jew he does not deserve to die or suffer he should be out of office but not out of this world
ME
I still don’t think i MOST pray for him, i don’t pray for every sick Jew AND SHRON HAS NO SPECIEL STATES
chs
to ME: the second beis hamikdash was destroyed because of sinas chinam, so the solution is ahavas yisroel, total and complete, baseless love. that’s our avodah and our achrayus of today, and I’m sure you want moshiach and the beis hamikdash shlishi, so start davening for ariel ben devorah…
JEWISH AND PROUD
Midah Kinneged Midah: Sharon made a huge hole in the heart of Eretz Yisroel now he has a hole in his heart!
May he have a speedy recovery b’gashmius and even more importantly b’ruchnius and may Hashem bless him with chochma to make the right choices and decisions for Eretz Yisroel!
zalman
me you dont pray for every jew bec u dont know every jew thats sick but if its someone big in the jewish world that u know oif u can pray for him
let-s learn from it.
hey u all i just wanted to say lets learn that were ment to take care of our bodies and mind … god gave it to us lets not abuse it
TO -LETS LEARN FROM IT!
GUT GEZUGED!!!!!
me
to m.m. ther are romers that he is not a jew
Sharons REAL name
Sharons’ real name is:
ariel ben verah
miki
me:
i am not 100% percent sure but i think that, that rumer comes from a certin novel, and its not true.
and i think that we should do our part and pray for him b/c he is jewish, and let hashem decide for what reason he became sick.
refuah shleimah for arial ben devorah.
Brit Hume
Divine Retribution?
Thursday, January 05, 2006
By Brit Hume
FOX News
Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
The Reverend Pat Robertson, once a prominent figure in Republican political circles who is now better known for his exotic pronouncements, says Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s stroke was God’s punishment for Sharon’s willingness to concede land to the Palestinians. Robertson, you may remember, called the 9-11 terrorist attacks divine retribution for liberal groups secularizing America. But speaking on the “700 Club,” Robertson said Sharon was "…dividing God’s land, and I would say, Woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the E.U., the United Nations or the United States of America." Robertson added, "God says, This land belongs to me. You better leave it alone."
Shmuli
Lots of people here wrote very similar to Brit Hume’s article of FOXnews which is a problem. He, as a non Jew, can say such a thing, us Jews have the commandment of Ahavas Yisroel.
In addition we know the Rebbe’s strong response to the g’dolim after WWII, when they said that those who were killed in the war were sinners. The Rebbe was very against such statements and we must stand by the Rebbe’s opinion no matter what the situation.
www.doonlygood.blogspot.com
I most defently condemn his acts in Gush Katif, Judea and Samaria, and any other disengagement. But I know one thing all in all he’s Jewish and that’s what counts, his Nefesh needs a Refua Shleima, and that’s what Tehillim does. We must pray that his Nefesh will have a big Refua Shleima. Please say Tehillim for Ariel Ben Devorah!!
Rafael V. Rabinovich
If we must davven for him, it should be for him to recover enough to do teshuva and let the world know how wrong he acted with the people of Gush Katif, Tzon HaShomron, and Yamit.
fghj
rafael v.:
your 100 percent right he should have a recovery at leat enough to do teshuva
the ear
what is his real name? what to say for his name? daven that he should heal bgashmius ubruchnius. litterally. hes gonna need all the help he can get for doiong what he did….and i quote "girl" when i (rightfully) accuse him: G-D forgive me! cannot be helped
smart girl
this guy is a big rasha! the rebbe saved him and look what he’s done! it’s quite shocking to read the letters that he had written to the rebbe in the earlier years and what the rebbe had written to him and comphere it to who he is now, he definitely deserves whats happening to him if not he deserves worse how ever we must not forget he’s a jew (from what i know) and if a jew is in danger we must pray for him, may he have a refua shelaima at least enough to do teshuva!!!!!