Shimon Peres Has Surgery After ‘Mild’ Heart Attack
Image by Getty Images
Israeli elder statesman Shimon Peres was stable in hospital on Thursday after successfully undergoing minor surgery for a constricted artery that had caused chest pain, officials said.
The 92-year-old former prime minister and president “feels well and is fully conscious,” after the catheterisation procedure at a hospital near Tel Aviv, his spokeswoman said.
Rafi Valden, Peres’ physician and son-in-law, said he was feeling well after a “small heart attack.”
“His only complaint to his staff is that he cannot continue with today’s itinerary,” Valden told reporters.
Polish-born Peres is credited with setting up Israel’s nuclear capabilities, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his role in reaching an interim peace deal with the Palestinians. He has served twice as prime minister and was president from 2007-2014.
As the last of Israel’s founding fathers, the dovish Peres remains an important figure to many fellow citizens and has maintained an active public schedule, encouraging Middle East diplomacy and technological innovation.
He is also known for his stewardship of the Peres Center for Peace, a non-governmental organization focused on building closer ties between Israel and the Palestinians, improving healthcare and developing local economies.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
