President meets siblings of man who donated lung to Nechama Rivlin

"Your brother and our Nechama are now together. And he was with her all the time. He gave her great strength."

President Reuven Rivlin with the Halibli family (photo credit: Mark Neiman/GPO)
President Reuven Rivlin with the Halibli family
(photo credit: Mark Neiman/GPO)
"We are one family now," President Reuven Rivlin said when meeting with the family of Yair Halibli on Thursday, whose lung was donated to First Lady Nechama Rivlin when she received a transplant on March 11 of this year.
Nechama Rivlin passed away on Tuesday at the age of 73. Her funeral was held at Mount Herzl on Wednesday on what would have been her 74th birthday.
Halibli's siblings, Nisai and Amit, were greeted by the president and his children at Beit HaNassi. This was their first time meeting Halibli's family.
“Please tell your parents I would be glad to meet them," Rivlin told Nisai and Amit. "It’s important to me. Your brother and our Nechama are now together. And he was with her all the time. He gave her great strength. Please send your parents our thanks from the bottom of our hearts and our huge appreciation.”
The president spoke with Amit and her mother, Shari, on the phone on the day of the transplant and said at the time that he hoped that the two families could meet, with Nechama, when she recovered after the transplant. Yair's siblings came to the president's house to offer their condolences to the Rivlin family.
“Nechama has passed away, an understated woman who shared that characteristic with Yair. Rest in peace together with my wonderful son,” said Shari Halibli on Nechama's passing.
Menachem Shlomo and Greer Fay Cashman contributed to this report.