Speaking with Betzalel Kahn of Kol Chai Radio following the Supreme Court verdict in the Holyland real estate case, former Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky was quick to praise and thank HKBH. Lupoliansky, who was sentenced by the Tel Aviv District Court to six years imprisonment emerged a victor as the Supreme Court reduced his sentence to six months community service.
He explained HKBH does not abandon those who have committed their lives to the tzibur and to assist Am Yisrael, acknowledging it has been a difficult six years as the trials against him continued. He explained ‘they framed me”, without being more specific, thanking HKBH for the new verdict, which spares him the suffering of entering prison. He added that he still fails to understand why permitting one to donate an Aron Kodesh and Sefer Torah to a charity organization, in this case Yad Sarah, is considered accepting a bribe, concluding “There are many questions to be answered”.
Lupoliansky explained he received a bracha from Maran HaGaon HaRav Sholom Elyashiv ZT”L and he was confident that the late gadol hador was acting as a ‘meilitz yosher’ on his behalf and this contributed significantly to the court’s ruling.
Lupoliansky added that what remains is to continue doing what he can for the tzibur at large as he has done his entire life. “I hope to continue working for the tzibur, not just for six months but for many many years to come” he added.
After leaving the Supreme Court, Rabbi Lupoliansky traveled to the kever of Rav Elyashiv to be mispallel as he did on Monday, the day before the announcing of the verdict.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
B.H. -So happy. He is the world’s nicest person.
He’s the quintessential “community service” individual without the judge’s ruling. For about the past 35 years, he’s been at the head of Yad Sara that over the years has assisted at least half the Israeli population, including chilonim. He has never taken a penny in salary; in fact he and his wife are listed as #1 and 2 on Yad Sara’s roster of volunteers. Yet when he directed someone to donate money to this organization, the judge deemed is “acceptingn a bribe,” for which he was originally sentenced to 6 years (!) in prison. On appeal, it is now reduced to 6 months of “community service” — something he’s been doing for decades, and IY”H will continue long after his six month “sentence” is up.