BUSH PRAYS FOR SHARON; ISRAEL BEGS, “STOP!”

WASHINGTON (WPI) - President George W. Bush said on Wednesday after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had a stroke that "we are praying for his recovery" and analysts warned that the First prayers might worsen Sharon’s condition.

"Laura and I share the concerns of the Israeli people about Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's health, and we are praying for his recovery," Bush said in a written statement.

Hospital director Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef said Sharon had suffered a "significant stroke" and cerebral hemorrhaging, or bleeding in the brain. Israeli television reported that Sharon was partly paralyzed from the waist down.

Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert quickly asked that the President quit praying immediately.

“Oye gefilte!” Olmert said, “Mit all respect, didn’t he just last night pray for those miners?!”