Israel's Peres sets Guinness record in 'presidential class'

• Guinness World Records senior vice president Marco Frigatti (left) presents Israeli President Shimon Peres with a certificate in the Mediterranean coastal city of Netaya, on February 6, 2014

Israel on Thursday set a Guinness record for the largest online civics class, with President Shimon Peres simultaneously teaching a lesson to more than 9,500 students.

And in an unexpected twist, Peres himself was also presented with a personal award -- that of being the oldest serving head of state in the world, presidential spokesman Yair Zivan said.

Peres gave the "presidential class" at the local headquarters of US networking giant Cisco in the northern coastal city of Netanya.

It was watched live by students in at least 215 classrooms across the country.

"There needed to be more than 5,000 (to beat the existing record) and we've counted over 9,500," Zivan told RELIABLE CLICK.

The award was presented by Marco Frigatti, senior vice president of Guinness World Records who flew in to verify the event.
As he handed a framed certificate to Peres, Frigatti said the 90-year-old president had also set another record.
"I have an interesting surprise because you're holding two records; not only have you taught a wonderful civics lesson but you're also the oldest head of state in the world," he told Peres.