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Lupolianski was widely regarded as a charismatic public servant whose leadership emphasized compassion, community service, and the public good.
By United with Israel Staff
Former Jerusalem mayor Uri Lupolianski died overnight at age 74 after a period of declining health during which he was hospitalized several times.
Lupolianski was Jerusalem’s first Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) mayor and is widely remembered as one of Israel’s leading figures in the field of social welfare and volunteerism. He is survived by his wife, Michal, their 12 children, and more than 50 grandchildren.
Born in Haifa in August 1951, Lupolianski served in the IDF as a medic before moving to Jerusalem with his family in the 1970s. Early in his career he worked in education, studied public administration, and received rabbinic ordination from senior rabbinical court judges in Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem.
In 1976, he founded Yad Sarah, a nonprofit volunteer organization providing medical equipment and assistance to the sick, naming it after his grandmother Sarah.
What began as a small initiative in his home grew into Israel’s largest volunteer organization, with more than 6,000 volunteers operating across 103 branches nationwide. For this work, Lupolianski received numerous honors, including the Israel Prize and the President’s Award for Volunteerism.
Lupolianski served as mayor of Jerusalem from 2003 to 2008, during which he advanced a wide range of municipal and social projects, with a focus on infrastructure development, education and welfare services, and strengthening the city’s Jewish character. He was widely regarded as a charismatic public servant whose leadership emphasized compassion, community service, and the public good.
Tributes poured in following Lupolianski’s passing. Former Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat said he received the news “with great sorrow,” describing Lupolianski as “a man of kindness” who “devoted his life to Jerusalem and to the people of Israel.”
Health Minister Uriel Busso called his death “an enormous loss,” praising him as “a pillar of kindness, healing, and selfless giving.”
Knesset members Meir Porush and Uri Maklev also paid tribute, saying Jerusalem and the Jewish people had lost “one of their most devoted men of compassion.” Maklev described Lupolianski as “the great architect of Israel’s world of kindness,” noting that he “elevated kindness to an entirely new level.”
Lupolianski’s legacy, rooted in compassion, public service, and lifelong devotion to others, leaves a lasting imprint on Jerusalem and Israeli society as a whole.
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