Uri Lupoliansky accused of taking bribes; denies wrongdoing
Uri Lupoliansky, the former mayor of Jerusalem,
Uri Lupolianski, after his arrest (photo courtesy of AP)
was arrested Wednesday evening and charged with accepting bribes in exchange for his support of a controversial building project in the capital’s Bayit Vegan neighborhood. According to charges filed in the Petach Tikva District Court, police believe a man named Hillel Charny donated millions of shekels to charities run by Lupoliansky with the understanding that the then-mayor would use his influence to make sure the Holyland Park apartment project received building permits.
Mr Charny is an investor in the Holyland Park. He needed the building permits in order to build the apartments, which are considered some of fanciest and most expensive in Jerusalem.
Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who served as mayor of Jerusalem from 1993-2003, is also suspected of accepting bribes in exchange for his support for the project. Olmert returned Thursday from a visit overseas, and police say they will interrogate the former mayor after Yom Ha’atzmaut, which falls on Tuesday.
Both men strongly denied any wrongdoing. “I was never offered a bribe, never accepted a bribe from anyone in any way,” Olmert told reporters when he arrived in Israel.
Quick Fall
Before Wednesday, Lupolianski was one of the most respected public figures in the country. In 1976 he created Yad Sarah, a charitable organization that loans medical equipment like crutches and wheelchairs to people in need and services to sick people unable to care for themselves (things like wheelchair-friendly taxis).
But now, Yad Sarah’s honesty has been called into question. Police supect that Mr Charny donated more than NIS 3 million to Yad Sarah, and to several other charities that Mr Lupoliansky supports, sometime before 1999, when the Holyland building project was approved by the Jerusalem City Council. At the time, Mr Olmert was the mayor of Jerusalem, Mr Lupoliansky was deputy mayor, and Luponliansky was chairman of the National Planning and Construction Committee.
Holyland Park project (photo courtesy of AP)
Thousands of objections
The project, called Holyland Park, is a series of five apartment buildings overlooking the Begin Expressway, Teddy Stadium and the Malcha Mall. Four are connected by a fourth-floor wakway and the fifth is a 32-story tower.
But many Jerusalemites feel the buildings are ugly, and many others tried to convince the city council to deny the building permits before construction started. Police said that when he was mayor, Mr Lupoliansky ignored thousands of requests from Jerusalem residents NOT to build the.
Discussion Questions
• Imagine, for a moment, that Uri Lupolianski is found guilty of corruption, but that Yad Sarah was the only beneficiary of the bribe. Would that change the fact that he used his position as mayor to help a crooked businessman make a lot of money? If you were the judge, would you impose a lenient sentence, because “After all, he did it for charity”?
• If it turns out that the Holyland Park project was built illegally, or that the building permits were granted because of bribes, should the buildings be torn down? What about the people who live there? Should they lose the apartments they purchased in good faith?
• Remember, in a democracy people are considered innocent until proven guilty. But in this case, even if Mr Lupolianski and Mr Olmert are found innocent their reputations have been damaged because of these accusations. How could the media pay them back for this? How could the police repay Uri Lupolianski for the humiliation of being arrested if he really is innocent?
