Wife of President Reuven Rivlin being laid to rest Wednesday afternoon at Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem on what would have been her 74th birthday; her husband and children to deliver eulogies
As Israel mourned, First Lady Nechama Rivlin – the wife of President Reuven Rivlin – was to be laid to rest on Wednesday, on what would have been her 74th birthday, amid an outpouring of grief from high-profile Israeli and international dignitaries.
Rivlin was to be laid to rest at Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem. She passed away on Tuesday at the Beilinson Hospital outside Tel Aviv, from complications that occurred following a lung transplantation which she had undergone in March.
Her friends and admirers as well as many of the Israeli public who have met her over the years paid their condolences, recalling her bravery and her love for both people and nature.
Mrs. Rivlin’s coffin was to be taken to the Jerusalem Theater, where the public could pay their respects from 2pm. The president and his family were to arrive at the theater at 4pm, and the funeral cortege was set to depart for Mount Herzl at 5:15pm.
The funeral service, which was scheduled for 6pm, was to include sermons and speeches from Rabbi Benny Lau, author Haim Be’er, and President Rivlin and his children. There was also to be a musical tribute from singers Rona Kenan and Alon Eder.
The funeral was also to be broadcast live online.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday led the tributes to the first lady. “Along with the citizens of Israel, my wife Sara and I would like to express our deep sorrow over the death of the president’s wife, Nechama,” Netanyahu said.
“We have all been praying for her recovery these past weeks, as she was bravely fighting for her life. We send our condolences to the president, his family and to the entire country. May her memory be blessed.”
In an official statement Tuesday, the family thanked those who continued to be concerned for Nechama in light of her deteriorating medical condition in recent months.
The family expressed their gratitude “to the staff of the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva for their devoted, sensitive and professional treatment during the past few months, night and day, with open hearts and shining faces.”
In their message, the Rivlin family also thanked the family of the kidney donor – 19-year-old Yair Yechezkel Halabali, who died in Eilat days earlier – for “their inspiring dignity and the wonderful thing they did.”
Rivlin was a popular first lady who focused on the arts, the environment and children with special needs, and was a trusted adviser to her husband.
As reported by Ynetnews