Farhan: Praying for Sharon
Photo: Tsafrir Abayov
Gaza evacuee, Christian supporters visit hospital
Former Gaza resident Avi Farhan says he is angry at Sharon over pullout but keeps his fingers crossed in the hopes PM recovers; about 20 Christian Israel supporters pray for Sharon's health
The dozens of concerned citizens who arrived at the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem Sunday to express their support for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his family included Avi Farhan, an evacuated settler and one of the most high-profile speakers for the anti-pullout camp.
"I wished Sharon health after his first stroke (about two weeks ago)," Farhan said. "We all pray he will return to being the same Arik, the same bulldozer. We must separate our personal relation to Arik Sharon and his long history, and the pain caused by the eviction twice, once in Sinai, and once in Elei Sinai," Farhan stated.
Farhan, who was evacuated from his home in the northern Gaza settlement of Elei Sinai over the summer, came to the hospital in order to express his concern for the PM.
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Farhan, who was evacuated from his home in the Sinai peninsula during the evacuation of Israeli communities in 1982, gained fame after walking from Jerusalem to protest the pullout. He later helped establish the Elei Sinai settlement in northern Gaza, and after the disengagement last summer again marched to the capital in protest.
However, while Farhan is angry at Sharon because of the withdrawal, he added he still keeps his fingers crossed for the PM's recovery.
"I condemn the acts of several friends who proposed a toast after Sharon's stroke. Theses are people from the margins. I believe that 99 percent of the evicted pray for Sharon's health and know he has done a lot for Israel, in spite of their personal pain," he said.
'Sharon is a fighter'
Another visitor to the Hadassah hospital Sunday was Earl Cox, who served as an advisor for four American presidents. Cox arrived at Hadassah accompanied by some 20 Christian supporters of Israel, and prayed with them for the prime minister's wellbeing.
Cox said that the future of all Christians depended on what takes place in Israel, and added this was a bad time for Israel, noting he has prayed for God to touch Ariel Sharon and help him.
As a man who worked alongside some very prominent leaders, Cox said he perceives Sharon to be a strong person and a fighter who stands his ground. Cox said he wishes Sharon wakes up, because this was what everybody wanted.
The national President of Hadassah, June Walker, also visited the hospital Sunday and spoke to the PM's relatives and associates.
Walker said she spoke with Sharon's son Omri, who she said thanked her and Hadassah for the treatment and concern for his father. Sharon's entire family is concerned for him, Walker said, because he is a father and a grandfather and like any other family they worry.
Walker said she visits the Jerusalem hospital every several weeks, and that when she heard Sharon was hospitalized she asked to get there immediately. According to Walker, she needed to be with her friends in Hadassah and with Israel during the hard times.
Meital Yasur-Beit Or contributed to the report
