Oldest man in Israel dies at 117

Israel’s oldest man, Shlomo Sulayman, has died at the age of 117.

Sulayman died yesterday with is family by his side, according to Ynet. He is survived by six children as well as “dozens of grandkids, great and great-great grandkids.”

Sulayman was living on his own and his mind was clear until the very end, says his grandson, Gil Radia, who says that confinement to his home in recent months due to the coronavirus pandemic did his grandfather “harm.”

“Until the pandemic, he would go to the synagogue, even at the age of 116. He was a very modest man, which is why everyone loved him. But I guess the isolation at home contributed to his health deteriorating,” Radia says.

Sulayman, who, his family says, was born in 1903, immigrated from Yemen to Israel with his wife and four children in 1949. Two other children were born in Israel. Sulayman served in the Israel Defense Forces and worked in agriculture. His wife died several years ago at the age of 94.

— JTA