President Peres has a close call

Moments of anxiety as mishap sees sign and large plant fall on 89-year-old statesman

President Shimon Peres shortly before a sign fell on him in his sukkah Wednesday (photo credit: Sharon Marks Altshul)

President Shimon Peres in his sukkah on Wednesday (photo credit: Sharon Marks Altshul/The Real Jerusalem Streets)

It was a veritable Sukkot miracle at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

President Shimon Peres was hosting a gathering in his sukkah, when a gust of wind knocked over a sign bearing the state emblem of the menorah, and a large potted plant, both of which landed on the 89-year-old statesman.

President Peres' bodyguards hurry to his rescue after a sign fell on him Wednesday (photo credit: Sharon Marks Altshul)

President Peres’s bodyguards rush to his rescue (photo credit: Sharon Marks Altshul/The Real Jerusalem Streets)

The president’s bodyguards sped to Peres’s rescue, only to discover that the rush was unnecessary — the president was fine.

Shaking off the incident — and the falling objects — Peres continued to host the holiday celebration within the protected confines of the presidential sukkah.

President Peres's bodyguards lifting a sign from him after it fell on him inside his sukkah on Wednesday (photo credit: Sharon Marks Altshul/The Real Jerusalem Streets)

President Peres’s bodyguards lift a sign and a potted plant that fell on him (photo credit: Sharon Marks Altshul/The Real Jerusalem Streets)