The oldest resident of Israel died Monday. Dib Ali Jordan of the Arab village of Jisr Zerka, south of Haifa, had a fruitful lifetime of 119 years and his descendants are said to number in the thousands. He fathered his youngest son at the age of 92.
Dib Ali had six children by his first wife, who died in 1932 and 14 by his second wife whom he married two years later and was 50 years his junior.
Villagers claim that about half the 5,000 residents of Jisr Zerka are Dib’s kin. They say he had 200 grandchildren, 800 great grandchildren and several hundred great-great grandchildren.
According to some of his children, Dib led a clean, outdoor life. He did not smoke, or drink alcohol, was an avid hunter and took long walks daily until only a month before he died.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
