Former Jerusalem mayor convicted of bribery

A former mayor of Jerusalem has been sentenced to six years in jail and fined 500,000 shekels ($144,850) for accepting bribes in a property deal.

The sentence for Uri Lupolianski comes only a month after former prime minister (and former Jerusalem mayor) Ehud Olmert was convicted in the same case.

Both men were among 18 who stood accused of receiving bribes to advance real estate ventures, most significantly the Holyland Park building complex in Jerusalem.

Olmert and Lupolianski were both convicted of helping developers, including Holyland Corporation owner Hillel Cherny, to overcome legal and zoning barriers to beginning the construction of the apartment complex.

Cherny, who was the main figure behind the real estate project, was convicted of bribery on May 13 and sentenced to three-and-a-half years.

However, the conviction of Lupolianski, who was mayor of Jerusalem between 2003 and 2008, has been controversial for a number of reasons.

He had been suffering from long-term complications arising from cancer, which many believed would lead to leniency from the court judge, David Rozen.

Nonetheless, on 9 June it was indicated that Rozen would be willing to give him jail time if the law dictated that result.

The decision of the state to request six years in prison, and the lack of any plea bargain, forced Rozen to give the full sentence.

Commentators have already suggested this may overturned by the Supreme court.

The fact that Lupolianski’s poured the money from the bribes into his charity Yad Sarah, an organisation that aids elderly, disabled and recuperating patients living at home, has also evoked sympathy from some quarters.