Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, a highly influential leader of Haredi Jews, has died at the age of 100.
Edelstein, the head of the Bnei Brak-based Ponevezh Yeshiva and a top leader of the United Torah Judaism Ashkenazi Haredi party, died Tuesday from complications connected to his age following several days in hospital in Bnei Brak, a statement from the Yeshiva said.
He was born in Russia, near the border with Belarus, to a rabbinical dynasty. Edelstein immigrated to Israel in 1934 and settled in Ramat Hasharon before moving later in life to Bnei Brak.
Edelstein was a hugely influential leader of the non-Hasidic Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox community, with hundreds of thousands of followers.
Hundreds of thousands are expected to attend his funeral which will be held later Tuesday in Bnei Brak, just outside Tel Aviv, the statement said.
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