Send Page to a Friend Israeli PM felled by a stroke Boston Herald by Steve Weizman January 6, 2006 Jerusalem - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive, life-threatening stroke yesterday and underwent lengthy surgery to drain blood from his brain after falling ill at his ranch. Powers were transferred to his deputy, Ehud Olmert. A hospital director in Jerusalem said bleeding in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's brain had not stopped late last night and that the operation would continue for several more hours. In Boston the news was met with prayers for the Jewish leader and faith in Israel's government should Sharon die. "The Greater Boston Jewish community is keeping the prime minister in our thoughts and prayers as we wish him a speedy recovery," said a statement from the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston. "We have full confidence in the vibrancy of Israel's democracy which has a system in place now that a transition of power has proven necessary." An ambulance brought Sharon to the Jerusalem hospital 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 slow momentum toward peacemaking with the major vacuum at the head of his new Kadima party, which was expected to head a government after the March 28 vote. Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon said Sharon's authority was transferred to Olmert because the prime minister was under general anesthesia.