Nechama Rivlin ( he, נֶחָמָה רִיבְלִין,
née Shulman; 5 June 1945 – 4 June 2019) was an Israeli researcher, science secretary, and
First Lady of Israel
First Lady of Israel is the unofficial title of the wife of the president of Israel. The current first lady of Israel is Michal Herzog, wife of President Isaac Herzog.
History
There is no official role or office of the first lady of Israel, al ...
from 2014 to 2019.
She worked at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 1967 to 2007.
Early life and education
Rivlin was born on a
moshav in
Herut, Israel
Herut ( he, חֵרוּת, ''lit.'' Freedom) is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the Sharon plain near Tel Mond, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lev HaSharon Regional Council. In it had a population of .
History
The village was found ...
. Her parents, Mendi and Drora Kayla Shulman, who immigrated from
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, helped establish the community.
[ Her mother, who had immigrated from Ukraine, was widowed when her husband died at the age of 45 from an illness. Rivlin was five at the time. Her mother then worked the farm, "with its orchard, cattle and chickens." "I remember her working hard and fighting like a lioness for the right to work the land, despite the objective difficulties entailed in choosing such a demanding way of life. She never sank into debt – no small feat in a cooperative farming settlement," Rivlin later wrote.
Rivlin attended local schools and graduated from the Ruppin Regional High School. In 1964 she enrolled at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where she earned a BSc in Botany and Zoology, along with a Teaching Diploma.
]
Career
Rivlin became a researcher at Hebrew University in 1967. Her initial role was in the Department of Zoology and she later worked in the genetics division in the Department of Ecology. She later worked as a scientific secretary at the university's Institute of Life Sciences. Rivlin retired in 2007.
Political links
In her position as the wife of the Israeli President, she concentrated on areas she was most familiar with through her academic work and family. One area of focus was nature and the environment.
She was also a vocal supporter of women and children. Inaugurating her first major initiative as First Lady, she welcomed 200 Akim activists to the President's residence to draw attention to the needs of intellectually challenged children and to advocate for supporting them. Sharing a message of peace and tolerance, she hosted students and teachers from the Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish-Arab Education in Israel at the President's Residence following an arson attack at their school. Rivlin said violence against children was a great problem throughout society, and that Israel should work to investigate and address child abuse. "We must break this conspiracy of silence once and for all", she said. In March 2016, she hosted a group of women who had publicly shared their experiences with sexual assault and domestic abuse. Rivlin told them that by telling their stories, they would help others who face difficult issues.
Rivlin joined her husband on international trips. Together, they visited U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
for the December 2015 Hanukkah
or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem)
, nickname =
, observedby = Jews
, begins = 25 Kislev
, ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet
, celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...
celebration. Nechama and Reuven lit a menorah made in Israel by designer Ze'ev Raban
Ze’ev Raban (22 September 1890 – 19 January 1970), born Wolf Rawicki (Ravitzki), was a leading painter, decorative artist, and industrial designer of the Bezalel school style, and was one of the founders of the Israeli art world.
Biography
...
.
In 2018, Rivlin established the Rivlin presented the prize to Poet Amichai Chasson
Amichai Chasson (also Amichai Hasson, Hebrew: עמיחי חסון; born 1987) is an Israeli poet, curator and filmmaker.
Biography
Amichai Chasson born in Ramat Gan, Israel in 1987 into an Orthodox Jewish family. His father from Tripoli, Libya ...
for the first time.
Personal life and death
In 1970, Rivlin met Reuven Rivlin at a party.[ They married in 1971, a year after their meeting.][ It was his second marriage and he had a son from his first marriage. It was her first marriage. The couple had three children, Rivka, Anat, and Ran.][ The family resided in ]Yefeh Nof
Yefeh Nof ( he, יפה נוף) is a neighborhood in west Jerusalem, founded in 1929. Together with Ramat Beit HaKerem and Givat Beit HaKerem, it is part of the larger Beit HaKerem neighborhood. Its name is one of the seventy poetic names the H ...
. After her retirement in 2007, she became a film buff, watched theatre, and developed an interest in gardening and the environment. Later in life, she studied the history of art
The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetic visu ...
.
Rivlin suffered from pulmonary fibrosis
Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred over time. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, and nail clubbing. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, respiratory failu ...
, an interstitial lung disease. She was regularly seen in public with a portable oxygen tank. On 11 March 2019, Rivlin received a lung transplant
Lung transplantation, or pulmonary transplantation, is a surgical procedure in which one or both lungs are replaced by lungs from a donor. Donor lungs can be retrieved from a living or deceased donor. A living donor can only donate one lung lobe. ...
thanks to a lung coming from 19 year old Yair Yehezkel Chalabli's body, who died on a freediving accident. She died on 4 June, one day shy of her 74th birthday, at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva of complications following the transplant. She is survived by her sister Vered.
Nechama Rivlin was laid in state at Jerusalem Theatre
The Jerusalem Theatre ( he, תיאטרון ירושלים, The Jerusalem Centre for the Performing Arts) is a centre for the performing arts in Jerusalem. The theatre opened in 1971. The complex consists of the Sherover Theatre, which seats 95 ...
on Wednesday, June 5, 2019. Speakers at her funeral included Rabbi Binyamin Lau
Binyamin Tzvi (Benny) Lau, (born October 20, 1961, Tel Aviv) is an Israeli rabbi, community leader, activist, author, and public speaker who lives in Jerusalem. He is the head of 929: Tanach B'yachad and headed the Kehillat Ramban synagogue in J ...
and author Haim Be'er, as well as her husband, President Rivlin and children.[ Singers ]Rona Kenan
Rona (Aharona) Rachel Kenan ( he, רונה קינן, born 26 July 1979) is an Israeli singer-songwriter.
Biography
Kenan was born on 26 July 1979. Her father is the late Amos Kenan and her mother is the scholar Nurith Gertz. She was attracted ...
and also performed at the funeral.[ Rivlin was buried at the Mount Herzl national cemetery in ]Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
later that day.[
]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivlin, Nechama
1945 births
2019 deaths
Spouses of presidents of Israel
Israeli zoologists
Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty
Israeli Jews
Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Lung transplant recipients
People from Central District (Israel)
20th-century Israeli women scientists
21st-century Israeli women scientists