Rabbi Shalom Cohen
Rabbi Shalom CohenYaakov Cohen

The condition of Rabbi Shalom Cohen, president of the Council of Torah Sages of the Shas movement who has been hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem for over a week, has deteriorated in recent hours.

The rabbis are calling on the public to welcome Shabbat early and pray for the healing of Rabbi Shalom ben Tufacha Malka.

The head of the opposition and Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he "prays together with many among the people of Israel for the healing of the sage Rabbi Shalom Cohen, president of the Council of Torah Sages. Please god, heal him."

Rabbi Shalom Cohen, 91, heads the Porat Yosef Yeshiva. He has held the title of president of the Shas Council of Torah Sages since the death of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in 2013.