Israel's Sharon Rushed to Hospital Jan 04 3:27 PM US/Eastern
JERUSALEM
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was rushed to a hospital late Wednesday after feeling ill, his office said. Israeli media reported that he apparently suffered a second stroke. The announcement said he was taken to Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital, where he was scheduled to undergo a heart procedure Thursday to close a hole that contributed to his Dec. 18 stroke. Israeli media and the Israeli rescue service said Sharon was taken to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, not far from his ranch, where he was resting before the Thursday procedure. Sharon's office said his personal physician was with him, and he was fully conscious.
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US Christian broadcaster says Sharon's stroke divine retribution
Jan 05 6:11 PM US/Eastern
US evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson suggested Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine retribution for "dividing God's land" of Israel, igniting his latest trademark controversy.
As the Israeli prime minister battled for life, Robertson seemed to suggest to viewers on his "700 Club" television show that Sharon was being punished for his policies in Gaza and the West Bank.
"The prophet Joel makes it very clear that God has enmity against those who, quote, 'divide my land.' God considers this land to be his.
"You read the Bible, he says, 'This is my land.' And for any prime minister of Israel who decides he's going carve it up and give it away, God says, 'No. This is mine.'"
Robertson, who frequently provokes outrage with his remarks, said he was "sad" to see Sharon fall sick, and that he was a "very likeable person."
"I prayed with him personally. But here he is at the point of death. He was dividing God's land, and I would say woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU, the United Nations or the United States of America."
"God said, 'This land belongs to me, you better leave it alone.'"
Robertson also appeared to suggest former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, murdered in 1995, had also paid the ultimate price for talking peace.
"He was tragically assassinated, and it was terrible thing that happened, but nevertheless, he was dead."
Robertson's latest blast drew immediate condemnation from Israel's ambassador to the United States.
"Such things are very outrageous. I would expect this only from people like (President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad in Iran ... I wouldn't expect it from any of our friends," ambassador Danny Ayalon told CNN.
The US Anti-Defamation League also piled on Robertson's "outrageous and shocking" comments.
"His remarks are un-Christian and a perversion of religion. We would hope that good Christian leaders would distance themselves from Pat Robertson's remarks," the ADL said in a statement.
"It is pure arrogance for Robertson to suggest that he has divine knowledge of God's intent and purpose based on his interpretation of ure."
Robertson, who ran for president as a conservative in 1988, and often urges supporters on his show to support President George W. Bush, frequently unleashes rhetorical hand grenades.
In October, he said a recent spate of natural disasters pointed to the end of the world and the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ.
In August, Robertson said the United States should assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, but later apologized for the remark.
He also suggested voters in a Pennsylvania town should not expect God's help should they face a natural disaster after they ousted a school board which had mandated the teaching of creationism.
Last year, he suggested that the threat to the United States from liberal "activist judges" was "probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings," a reference to the September 11 attacks.
He has also lambasted Disneyland and the United Nation
ס'גלייבט זיך ענדליש אז ס'א מופת פון די מוסלאמינישע גלחים ווי פון די מזרחי רבנים.
נשלח ב-5/1/2006 18:03
וועמען'ס מופת איז דאס?
די מזרחי רבנים האבן געמאכט א חר. ביי דער התנקות, זיי וועלן אודאי נעמען קרעדיט
נשלח ב-5/1/2006 07:30
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is in critical condition after a brain hemorrhage and surgery to stop the bleeding was likely to take several more hours, a doctor said on Thursday, six hours into the operation. "We expect the surgery will take several more hours. The prime minister is sedated and on a respirator. One could say his condition is grave," Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director of Jerusalem's Hadassah hospital, told reporters.
By Allyn Fisher-Ilan JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a dominant figure for decades in shaping the Middle East, suffered a massive brain hemorrhage on Wednesday and doctors battled to save his life. "It looks very bad. I don't know if he will recover," said a senior political source after Sharon, 77, was taken in an ambulance from his ranch in southern Israel to Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem late on Wednesday. Sharon's death or incapacitation would cause political upheaval in Israel ahead of a March 28 general election he had been expected to win on a platform of ending conflict with the Palestinians. He has been prime minister since 2001. Hopes of any negotiations on Palestinian statehood would be given another setback. "He has significant, massive cerebral bleeding ... the aim of the operation is to drain it," Hadassah hospital director Shmuel Shapira said. "We have the largest team that Israeli medicine can offer, the most senior people." Sharon's prime ministerial powers were transferred temporarily to his deputy, Ehud Olmert, who was to hold an emergency cabinet meeting later. Recent polls have not shown Olmert to be seen as a long-term successor. Sharon, who raised optimism for Middle East peace by pulling settlers and soldiers out of the Gaza Strip last September to end 38 years of military rule, suffered what doctors described as a mild stroke on December 18. He had been due to undergo an operation on Thursday at Hadassah hospital to repair a tiny hole in his heart thought to have contributed to his stroke last month. "BULLDOZER" The hefty ex-general popularly known as "The Bulldozer" spent several days in hospital but plowed back into a punishing public schedule in recent weeks. Opinion polls have shown Sharon was on course to win the March election as leader of the new centrist Kadima faction he founded after quitting the right-wing Likud party in the face of a party rebellion over the Gaza pullout. Continued ...
