120 year-old woman files for identity card
Oldest living person in world could very well be Jisr az-Zarka resident who claims she was born in 1888. Hadera Interior Ministry branch director suggests treating data with some skepticism
Does the oldest woman in the world live in Israel? The clerks at the local Interior Ministry branch in Hadera were stunned to discover Monday that one of the applicants for a renewal of her identity card claims to have been born 120 years ago, in 1888.
The woman, an elderly resident from the village of Jisr az-Zarka, arrived at the Hadera branch to file for a new identity card after losing her old one. On her application form, the woman stated that she had been born in 1888.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the oldest living person in the world is Edna Parker of the US. Parker is "only" 114 years-old, which makes her much younger than the Israeli super-centenarian who will soon celebrate her 120th birthday.
Application form shows year of birth is 1888
But, since she wishes to remain unnamed, the Jisr az-Zarka will apparently not make it to the record book herself.
However, head of the Hadera branch Moshe Hazut stressed that the data that appears on the woman's application form should be taken with a grain of salt. "The woman was born during the Ottoman period, a time when the population registry was very inaccurate. It is quite possible that she is younger than reported, or even older," he explained.
Hazut said that the woman arrived at the office with her great-great granddaughter, who served as her translator, "but she was perfectly capable of walking by herself… her hearing is slightly impaired, but other than that she seemed fine, God bless her."
