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.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
