Shimon Agranat, former president of Israel’s High Court of Justice, woke up Thursday morning to read in Ha’aretz that he was dead at age 83.
A short while later, two old friends were ringing Agranat’s doorbell to offer condolences to the grieving widow.
Mrs. Agranat, still half asleep, opened the door to Justice Moshe Landau, who succeeded her husband as president of the High Court, and former Justice Moshe Etzioni.
They were shocked and distraught by the news their colleague died.
Agranat himself took the news fairly well. Borrowing the famous Mark Twain line, he said, “The news of my death is premature.” By then, Ha’aretz’s managing editor had telephoned with profuse apologies.
The newspaper published a correction Friday and wished the distinguished jurist a long life and good health.
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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.
