Founder Of Yedidim Passes Away At Age 43 After Suffering Heart Attack

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Meir Weiner, who founded the Yedidim organization to assist motorists in trouble, passed away on Shabbos after suffering a heart attack last week .

Weiner had undergone a successful resuscitation as well as a catheterization after his cardiac arrest but remained sedated and respirated until he passed away at age 43.

A Karlin Stolin chasid, Weiner, who ran a large store in Modiin Illit, founded the Yedidim volunteer organization in 2006 after he had helped a friend who was stuck in his car and realized that there was no immediate solution for drivers who require help on the roads.

In a similar model to the Chaverim organization in Brooklyn, Weiner established a national network of volunteers from all over Israel who can arrive within minutes and fix without payment flat tires, car batteries or rescuing people locked inside cars, as well filling water, oil and gasoline.

In 2023 alone, Yedidim reported that its 65,000 volunteers rescued 1,842 children locked in cars, 249 animals trapped in cars and tens of thousands of drivers who had battery issues, flat tires or had locked the key in their cars.