Former PM Yitzhak Shamir turns 90

Former prime minister Yitzhak Shamir is celebrating his 90th birthday on Wednesday.

Former prime minister Yitzhak Shamir is celebrating his 90th birthday on Wednesday. Shamir's name reemerged in the news in 2004 when his family's request for special state funding for his hospitalization in a nursing home was turned down. Treasury officials were concerned of a precedent that would carry too heavy consequences for Israel's weak economy. Also, they suggested, that his state pension should be used for his treatment.