Shai Doron, a mainstay of Jerusalem philanthropy for decades and a disciple of the city’s legendary former mayor, Teddy Kollek, who served as president of Kollek’s Jerusalem Foundation, died suddenly on Tuesday. He was 64.

Doron, a fourth-generation Jerusalemite who championed the city’s diversity, has served as president of the Jerusalem Foundation since 2018. Before that, for 25 years, he led Jerusalem’s Tisch Zoological Gardens, turning the zoo, which opened in 1993, into one of the city’s most popular attractions.

“Jerusalem bids farewell — shocked and in deep dismay — to Shai Doron, a Jerusalemite with every fiber of his being, who contributed greatly to our city in a number of ways and positions that he filled with extraordinary success over the years,” Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion wrote in a Hebrew Facebook post about Doron on Tuesday.

Lion, who stressed his close working relationship with Doron, noted that both his first and last names signify a present or gift. “And indeed, Shai was a priceless gift to everyone who had the honor to know him, work with him and celebrate with him,” Lion said.

Following his death, numerous nonprofits and philanthropic organizations released statements in his honor, from local Jerusalem institutions, such as the Sam Spiegel Film School and Van Leer Institute, to international groups like Maimonides Fund. 

The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel mourned Doron as an environmentalist, from his time as head of the Jerusalem zoo through today.

“Shai was a true partner in conserving nature in Israel and led important projects to preserve and protect many animal species from extinction, such as his project to return the Persian fallow deer to Israeli vistas, to protect eagles, his otters project and more and more,” the CEO of SPNI, Dan Alon, wrote in a statement.

Doron began his work on behalf of the city of Jerusalem at a young age, taking a position as the head of a community center in the capital’s Neveh Ya’acov neighborhood at 25. In 1988, he became Kollek’s chief of staff, shortly before his sixth stretch as mayor of Jerusalem, serving as his right-hand man until 1993. 

“In the five years that I worked with him, I learned more than when I went to the Kennedy School of Government or to Harvard. The time I spent with Teddy was the best school ever,” Doron told the Jerusalem Post last year.

Doron has described his taking the helm of the Jerusalem Foundation as “closing the circle,” becoming the head of an organization that his former boss launched in 1966.

“[Doron] was a Jerusalemite, a man who loved people and was beloved by all those he met. He dedicated his life to Jerusalem and all of its residents. He is gone too soon and will be greatly missed,” the foundation wrote in an announcement about Doron’s death.

As the president of the Jerusalem Foundation, Doron spearheaded the organization’s Jerusalem 2030 plan, which it released in 2020 and was meant to guide the foundation for the coming decade. The plan focused on creating “communal strength” for all of the city’s residents: Jewish, Muslim and Christian, religious and secular.

“Under his leadership, the Jerusalem Foundation led numerous philanthropic projects in Jerusalem. He worked to advance shared society and to bridge the gaps between Jerusalem’s diverse communities and to provide equal opportunities for all,” the foundation said.

The Jerusalem 2030 plan included educational, employment and cultural programs, as well as funding the construction of projects across the city, including homes for at-risk youth, fitness centers in east Jerusalem, education centers, performance spaces and pluralistic Jewish learning centers, among others.

Doron regularly hailed Jerusalem’s diversity as its greatest asset. “Shared living is the coexistence of diverse groups. Jerusalem is home to Haredim, Palestinians, Sabras [native born Israelis], newcomers. The diversity of the city is one of its biggest assets. I’d like to introduce you to a new phrase: diverse city,” he told the Canadian Jewish News in 2019 shortly after taking his role at the Jerusalem Foundation.

“Shai Doron was the guiding pillar of the Jerusalem Foundation and the entire city,” Zvi Agmon, chairman of the Jerusalem Foundation board of directors, said in a statement. “We will remember him as someone who devoted his life to seeing Jerusalem develop and flourish.  His loss will be felt in all corners of the city.”

Doron, who died of a heart attack, leaves behind a wife, Orly, and three children, Ira, Illy and Tal.