Articles

New York Philanthropist Greenberg's Organs Donated to Six

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October 01, 2019

October 1, 2002 -- JERUSALEM - The organs of New York philanthropist Jonathan Greenberg, who was killed while biking in Israel, have been transplanted into six people, including a Palestinian man.

Greenberg, 37, was the son of prominent New York Rabbi Yitzhak Greenberg and feminist Blu Greenberg.

It marked the second time in a week that rabbis in Israel sanctioned organ transplants.

Last week, the organs of a Jewish seminary student from Scotland, who was killed in a Tel Aviv bus bombing, were transplanted.

Several years ago, Israel's Chief Rabbinate ruled that saving lives overrides the Jewish requirement to bury an intact body. Not all rabbis recognize the decision.

Greenberg's parents Sunday held an emotional meeting at an Israeli hospital with two men who received a kidney and cornea from their son. A 51-year-old Palestinian man from east Jerusalem received Greenberg's liver.

"The meeting can't bring back our son, and we can't get over what happened," Yitzhak Greenberg was quoted as saying by the Maariv daily.

"But, on the other hand, there is a feeling of happiness, and we feel that Jonathan will continue to contribute to the lives of others."

Greenberg was biking with a friend on a highway on Sept. 13 when he was hit by a car.