TO NEVER BE FORGOTTEN
They got their eyesight back and came to thank the family: A few days after brothers Hillel and Yagel Yaniv were murdered in an attack in Huwara in the West Bank, their corneas were transplanted into the eyes of four people, who thanks to the brothers got their eyesight back. On Sunday, members of the Yaniv family hugged the recipients of the brother's corneas at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.
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Yitzhak Buskila, 42, from Tirat Carmel, read a letter of thanks with a shaking voice: "You are a larger-than-life family. In the most difficult hours, you thought about giving and loving your fellow man. Thanks to you, my sight has been returned to me. I will never forget the moment they informed me that a donor had been found. Thanks to you, my children will have a father who can see them grow up."
Hillel, 22, and Yagel, 20, were murdered on February 26 in a shooting attack on the car they were riding in through the West Bank town of Huwara, south of Nablus. The terrorist approached the window of the vehicle and shot at the two with a pistol at point blank range. After the shooting, the victim's vehicle collided with other cars at the scene – the car of the head of the Beit El Council. Their parents agreed to donate the brothers' corneas immediately after the attack.
Nine days after the attack, Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed the terrorist who attacked the brothers during an arrest operation.
Parents Shalom and Esti, and their three children - Tzur, Rachel and Kama - hugged the transplant recipients for a long time.
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Transplant recipients hug Esti and Shalom Yaniv, parents of Hillel and Yagel
(Photo: Yariv Katz)
"There are many beautiful things in the people of Israel," said Esti. "We are not singularly virtuous and there are many more donors. We didn't choose, but we were chosen. We have had signed Adi (organ donor) cards for many years, and for me this is taking the light of Hillel and Yagel's eyes and passing it on. Not only for transplant recipients, for everyone – they knew how to look with a good eye on the world and our people, it will only do good for the people of Israel."
The boys' father, Shalom, added: "We are here at a happy event, there are people here who have had their sight returned. It is a wonder of wonders. The light of Hillel and Yagel's eyes still shines in the world." He addressed the transplant recipients: "Thank you for the thanks you give us."
Buskila, who is a married father of three, suffered from very poor vision in both eyes. He arrived with his mother Annette, who hugged Esti Yaniv tightly, and the latter said to her: "Mom to mom, I understand you." Yitzhak shared that the surgery changed his life, and that until now his wife "was his eyes."
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Transplant recipients and members of the Yaniv family meet at Beilinson Hospital
(Photo: Yariv Katz)
Ziona Salzberg, 68, from Migdal Ha'emek, suffered from severe clouding of the cornea and was unable to see for years. She was so moved that she could not read the words of thanks she had written for the family. She asked Rachel, Hillel and Yagel's sister, to do it for her.
"I am grateful for the light you gave me. In a difficult time you decided to do such a brave act. You are individuals of virtue," the letter said. Later Ziona added: "Now I can see their beautiful blue eyes. I can literally see them in front of me."
Ron Carmeli, 66, from Petah Tikva, looks forward to the day when he will see his granddaughter, pick her up and hug her without fear. Because of corneal edema he has not been able to see for many years.
"For many years I suffered from eye problems. I have been treated here at this hospital for almost 20 years," he said.
Carmeli shared that in recent years he lost the sight in his left eye. "I return to the month of March, to its second week, which is black. A week of terror and double bereavement. You, the Yaniv family – my silver platter as (poet Natan) Alterman wrote. The heroism and sacrifice, it is sublime and chivalrous. Now I can see clearly, I see your blue eyes like your sons and it's amazing. Thank you and may you never know sorrow again," he said.
Professor Irit Bacher, director of the ophthalmology department at Beilinson Hospital, who performed two of the transplants, said: "I have transplanted hundreds of corneas at Beilinson during my years of work, but these transplants were extraordinarily moving. The amazing blue eyes of the late Hillel and Yagel accompanied me during the transplants and it is overwhelming again to me now. In a corneal transplant there is a meeting between a world of bereavement and pain and the saving of vision and the excitement of transplant recipients. The cornea transplant of the late brothers Hillel and Yagel told a powerful story of unity, kindness and endless giving. The four transplant recipients each waited more than a year for their corneas. The line is too long and there is a shortage of donations and people who sign an Adi card, and we hope that this donation, which touched the hearts of many, will be an inspiration to others."
Professor Eitan Livni, director of the corneal unit at the eye center at Beilinson who performed two of the transplants: "I remember that moment when I saw the name 'Yaniv' appear next to two corneas. I immediately realized that it was the late Hillel and Yagel from the terrible attack and I felt a chill. It is really unusual to have two corneas from two brothers. The corneal transplant surgery we performed in Beilinson touched upon a national story that we were all pained by, when alongside the terrible sadness, this time there is also light here."