Israel's chief rabbis called on the public, Tuesday evening, to pray for the recovery of elder statesman Shim'on Peres, who was hospitalized with a stroke, Tuesday afternoon. Sources close to Peres's family have called his condition life threatening.
Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi David Lau said, "Mr. Peres has many merits in his many years of actions on behalf of the people of Israel." Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yoseph credited Peres with "saving the world of Torah. He founded the exemption for yeshiva students and had great respect for the Torah of Israel. My teacher and father (Rabbi Ovadia Yoseph) of righteous blessed memory admired him for it until the end of his days."