Nechama Rivlin

Nechama Rivlin (Hebrew: נחמה ריבלין June 5, 1945 – June 4, 2019) was the First Lady of Israel.

She was married to the current President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin.

Early life and education

Rivlin was born on moshav Herut; her parents, Mendi and Drora Kayla Shulman, helped establish the community. Her mother, who had immigrated from Ukraine, was widowed when Rivlin was a young girl. 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. Later in life, she studied the History of Art.

Career

Rivlin became a researcher at Hebrew University in 1967. Her initial role was in the Department of Zoology of the Hebrew University, and she later worked in the Department of Ecology, as well as in the Department of Genetics.

Rivlin retired in 2007, but in addition to regular employment, she has engaged in a variety of volunteer assignments, including in politics and the Jerusalem City Guard.

First Lady

In her role as Israel's First Lady, she has concentrated on areas she is most familiar with through her academic work and family. One area of focus is nature and the environment. She has created a community garden, and has begun a new recycling system.

She has also been 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 has said violence against children is 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 has joined her husband on international trips. Together, they visited U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House for the December 2015 Hanukkah celebration. Nechama and Reuven lit a menorah made in Israel by designer Ze'ev Raban.

Personal life

In 1971, Nechama Rivlin married Reuven Rivlin. The couple has three children, Rivka, Anat, and Ran.

Rivlin suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, an interstitial lung disease. She was regularly seen in public with a portable oxygen tank. On 11 March 2019, Rivlin received a lung transplant thanks to a lung donated by Yair Yehezkel Chalabli, who died due to a freediving accident. She died on 4 June, age 73, of complications following the transplant.