Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon still lies comatose at the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer where he remains hospitalized. February 27 marks Sharon’s 80th birthday, and his family plans to mark the day with a symbolic token gift, but little more.
Sharon served as Prime Minister from March 2001 until April 2006, though the powers of his office were exercised by acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert following Sharon’s stroke on January 4, 2006. At that time, Sharon fell into a coma; as of February 2008, he is in a persistent vegetative state.
During his lengthy career, Sharon was a highly controversial figure among many factions, both inside and outside Israel. Some of his critics have sought to prosecute him as a war criminal for alleged crimes related to the Sabra and Shatila massacre during the 1982 Lebanon War. The Kahan Commission held him personally responsible for the massacre. Sharon lost his post as Defense Minister as a result, but remained in the cabinet as minister without portfolio. Sharon continued as a leading figure in the Likud Party, and held various senior cabinet and party posts, ultimately becoming party leader in 1999 and Prime Minister in 2001.
During his tenure as Prime Minister, Sharon’s policies caused a rift within the Likud Party, and he ultimately left Likud to form a new party called Kadima. He became the first Prime Minister of Israel who did not belong to either Labor or Likud — the two parties that have traditionally dominated Israeli politics. The new party created by Sharon, with Olmert having stepped in as its leader, won the most Knesset seats in the 2006 elections, and is now the senior coalition partner in the Israeli government.
Sharon was hospitalized on December 18, 2005 after suffering a minor ischemic stroke. During his hospital stay, doctors discovered a heart ailment requiring surgery and ordered bed rest pending a cardiac catheterization scheduled for January 5, 2006. Instead, Sharon returned immediately to work and suffered a massive stroke on January 4, the day before surgery. After two surgeries lasting 7 and 14 hours, doctors stopped bleeding in Sharon’s brain, but couldn’t prevent him from entering a permanent coma. Subsequent media reports indicated that Sharon had been diagnosed with Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) during his December hospitalisation. Hadassah Hospital Director Shlomo Mor-Yosef declined to respond to criticism that the combination of CAA and blood thinners after Sharon’s December stroke may have caused his more serious, subsequent stroke.
Then-Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert became acting Prime Minister the night of Sharon’s second stroke. Knesset elections followed in March, with Olmert and Sharon’s Kadima party winning a plurality. The next month, the Israeli Cabinet declared Sharon permanently incapacitated and Olmert officially became Prime Minister of Israel on April 14, 2006.
Sharon has undergone a series of subsequent surgeries related to his comatose state. He has remained in a long-term care facility since November 6, 2006. Medical experts indicate that his cognitive abilities were likely to have been destroyed by the massive stroke. He is in a persistent vegetative state with extremely low chances of recovery.
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14 Responses
MIDAH KNEGED MIDAH, He uprooted jewish families from E’Y, therefore became a vegetable
israel plans to print a new 17 and a half shekel bill, with sharon’s face on it. the is nicknamed “almost chai”
I was told that a certain tzadik was asked what zechus does Sharon have to still be alive when you see so many other tragedies happening so the tzadik answered that can you imagine even the ground (earth) does not want him!
YW editor,
It is my humble opinion that you show some foresight and lock down comments sections on controversial stories like this.
TO ILLINI07–NO. 3
IT’S OBVIOUS TO ANYONE WHO ISN’T IN A COMA, LIKE SHARON!
Hope he suffers for 15 more years, the traitor.
You should all be ashamed! Especially Yeshiva world for heading this article with “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”.
Happy birthday to a human being (AND JEW!!!) who is in such a situation.
You’re all warped!
On the same site you’re screaming about how wonderful kavod hatorah is and how some old man changed the way he made his coffee to be obedient to kavod hatorah.
WHERE’S YOUR KAVOD HABRIOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?
A JEW IS ALWAYS A JEW AND THAT MEANS FORMER PRIME MINSTER ARIEL SHARON IS A JEW AS WELL,WHICH MEANS ARIEL SHARON SHOULD HAVE A COMPLEAT RECOVERY AS SOON AS POSIBLE HOPEFULLY THIS VERY SECOND HE SHOULD WAKE UP AND OPEN HIS EYES RIGHT NOW THAT HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO TESHUVA AND GO STRAIGHT TO GAN EDAIN AND HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ALSO GREET MOSHIACH AND HASHEM SHOULD PLEASE FORGIVE HIM COMPLETLY IF HE DOES SINCERE TESHUVA BECOUSE OF THE FACT THAT HE HAS ALREDY SUFFERED MORE THEN ENOUGH SINCE HIS LAST STROKE PLESE REMEMBER THAT EVEN THE BIGGEST AND MOST BAD AND EVUL PERSON WHO IS BAD AND MEAN HIS WHOLE LIFE COULD DO TESHUVA AT THE LAST SECOND WHICH MEANS EVEN IF A KNIFE IS HELD TO HIS NECK HE CAN STILL BE COMPLEATLY FOGIVEN FOR HIS MISDEADS AND THAT OF COURSE APPLIES TO FORMER PRIME MINESTER ARIEL SHARON WHO HAS DONE MANY GOOD THINGS IN HIS LIFE, AND ALSO PLEASE DONT FORGET THAT HE WAS THE JEWISH LEADER OF A JEWISH COUNTRY WHERE JEWISH PEOPLE RESIDE!!! ALSO NOBODY KNOWS THE FACT THAT ARIEL SHARON WHO IS IN PRESENT STATE IN WHICH HE IS IS ACTULLY MIDA KNEGED MIDA NOBODY KNOWS HASHEMS CHESBONOS AND NOBODY KNOWS WHY FORMER ARIEL SHORON IS THE WAY HE IS I HOPE ARIEL SHARON AND EVERY SINGLE JEWISH PERSON WILL LIVE TO BE 120 YEARS OLD AND THAT ALL OF KLAL YISROEL SHOULD GREET MOSHIACH AS SOON AS POSIBLE!!!
A JEW IS ALWAYS A JEW AND THAT MEANS FORMER PRIME MINSTER ARIEL SHARON IS A JEW AS WELL,WHICH MEANS ARIEL SHARON SHOULD HAVE A COMPLEAT RECOVERY AS SOON AS POSIBLE
“A JEW IS ALWAYS A JEW AND THAT MEANS FORMER PRIME MINSTER ARIEL SHARON IS A JEW AS WELL,WHICH MEANS ARIEL SHARON SHOULD HAVE A COMPLEAT RECOVERY AS SOON AS POSIBLE ”
No it does not. You are missing a point. Ariel Sharon y”sh” is a very evil Jew. He has caused a lot of suffering to Jews, destroyed Jewish communities, fought Torah, and gave away Jewish land to gentiles (a grave sin). Sure it would be nice if he did teshuva, but we cannot assume that he will, and thus have to deal with him like an enemy, sort of like Matisyahu dealt with the pig eating hellenist during the hanuka story.
Doom777,
You have no right to say y”sh about any Jew unless he was a “maisis umaidi’ach” like yoshke. Ariel Sharon has done many aveiros, and perhaps indeed more, and of a worse type than most other Jews. This is FOR HASHEM TO JUDGE. In the meantime he could certainly do teshuva – he is not worse than R’ Elozor ben Dordaya in the gemoro who had commited every kind of promiscuity and yet was able to do teshuva. Every extra frum yid in the world is more kevod shomayim, just as every wayward yid is a chillul shem shomayim. Anyone who really cares about kevod shomayim – which is the purpose of creation – will be davening with tears in his eyes that Sharon wakes up and does teshuva – the more publicly the better. If you are not that sensitive to kevod shomayim, that’s o.k., most of us are’nt. But certainly nobody has any right to curse him or wish him suffering chas vesholom. I am shocked at the lack of sensitivity and kovod habrios on the part of some of the commenters here.
[quote]This is FOR HASHEM TO JUDGE[/quote]
Yes and no. Certainly Hashem chooses what he gets in the afterlife, because only Hashem knows how Sharon y”sh affected the world. However we can still look at his actions and declare him a rasha. And while I would like him to do teshuva, it is useless to daven for it, because that is one thing that Hashem does not exercize control over. For Sharon to do Teshuva is only for Sharon to decide, if he woke up.
But knowing Sharon I seriously doubt he will be like R’ Elozor, and repent from the worst, simply because of his track record. So with such low probability of a good result of him waking up, I’d rather he stays in his vegetative state. And suffers also.
Doom777,
While doing teshuva is ultimately his bechira, one may certainly daven because hashem can make it easier for people in a myriad ways. As for judging him, wait until you are “magia limkomo”. AND YOU MAY NOT WISH SUFFERING ON ANY FELLOW JEW PERIOD.
“Ariel Sharon is a Jewish Hero and Israeli patriot. I say a misheirach for his recovery every Shabbos. The venom and hatred spewed at TYW about him is about what I expect from a bunch of Hypocites who hide behind their alleged Jewishness. ”
Was he a hero destroying Jewish settlements? Kicking Jews of Holy Land? Giving Eretz Yisrael to Arabs? Sure he did good things in the past, such as winning wars, but then he went around and did evil. So that makes him evil, and an enemy of Am Israel, as well as Medinat Israel.
20: All Jews have a responsibility to fight wars for Medinat Yisrael, not just secular ones. Yeshiva bochrim just as much. If war comes, I will fight for Medinat Yisrael, even though I won’t be a part of the IDF.