Avraham Ravitz
Photo: Ilan Marciano
Prayer session for PM held at Western Wall
Well-wishers gather in Old City to pray for PM's health, while others hope for different outcome entirely
A spontaneous prayer session was held at the Western Wall early Thursday while Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was being operated on at Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage.
"All Israelis are concerned over Sharon's health, and we hope he recuperates soon," one man told Reuters.
Praying for the prime minister at the Western Wall
"It hurts us to see the leader of the Jewish nation hospitalized, and we wish him a full recovery. Just yesterday Sharon said the disengagement has brought salvation to Israel; today he understands that such things are in the hands of God alone."
It seems that Sharon's condition is unifying many of the country's religious factions; Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar announced that a special mass prayer session will be held Thursday for Sharon, and the chief rabbis called on the public to read from the book of Psalms.
Deputy Minister of Social Welfare Avraham Ravitz (Degel Hatorah) asked the various political parties to "take time off from their elections preparations and display the unity of all Israelis."
However, there are also those who praying for Sharon's demise; during the course of the night reporters received a number of text messages saying that Sharon essentially "got what he deserved" for "harming Israel" (alluding to the disengagement).
