Tommy Lapid

MKs

Date of birth = birth date|1931|12|27|df=y
Place of birth = Novi Sad, Yugoslavia
Year of Aliyah = 1948
Date of death = death date and age|2008|6|1|1931|12|27|df=y
Place of death = Tel Aviv, Israel
Knesset(s) = 15th, 16th
Party = Hetz
Former parties = Shinui
Gov't roles = Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of Justice

Yosef "Tommy" Lapid ( _he. יוסף "טומי" לפיד, born Tomislav Lampel ( _sr. Томислав Лампел), December 27, 1931 - 1 June 2008) was an Israeli television presenter, journalist, politician and government minister known for his sharp tongue and acerbic wit. [http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/01/news/obits.php Joseph Lapid, journalist and ex-justice minister of Israel, dies at 77 - International Herald Tribune ] ] Lapid headed the secular-liberal Shinui party in 1999-2006. He was a fierce opponent of religious coercion and the growing ultra-Orthodox influence on Israeli politics.

Biography

Lapid was born in Novi Sad in Yugoslavia (today Serbia) to a Hungarian Jewish family. His family was seized by the Nazis and deported to the Budapest ghetto. His father died in a concentration camp. Lapid and his mother survived the war and moved to Israel in 1948. http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/01/news/obits.ph] After serving as a mechanic in the Israel Defense Forces, Lapid studied law at Tel Aviv University. He was married Shulamit Lapid, a novelist. [http://www.ithl.org.il/author_info.asp?id=152] They had three children. Their son, Yair Lapid, is a well-known columnist and television host. Their daughter, Michal, was killed in a car accident. [ [http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,552281-2,00.html Israel's 60th Anniversary: 'A Jew from Morning to Night' - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News ] ]

Media career

Lapid started out as a journalist for the Hungarian-language newspaper Új Kelet. [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/988999.html Olmert pays tribute to Yosef Lapid calling him a 'Jew through and through' - Haaretz - Israel News ] ] Later, he was hired by Maariv and went on to become director-general of the Israel Broadcasting Authority and chairman of the Cable TV Union. He was a regular guest on the political talk show "Popolitika" aired on Channel 1 which often turned into a shouting match, and later moved to a Channel 2 talk show, "Politika." Lapid was awarded the Sokolow Prize, Israel's top award in journalism, in 1998.

Political career

In the late 1990s, Lapid joined Avraham Poraz's Shinui party, which boosted the party's standing in the Israeli political scene. Lapid became party chairman and Shinui won six seats in the 1999 elections, with Lapid entering the Knesset for the first time.

In the 2003 elections the party ran on a secularist platform and won 15 seats, making it the third largest in the Knesset after Likud and Labour. Shinui was invited to join the government of Ariel Sharon and Lapid was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice.

Tension between Shinui and Likud grew when the ultra-Orthodox party Agudat Israel was brought into the coalition. Shinui could not implement many of its electoral promises, such as instituting civil marriage, and a dispute erupted over state aid to religious institutions. As a result, Shinui quit the coalition in December 2004. In late March 2005, Lapid voted in favor of the budget in exchange for minor concessions in order to keep the government from falling, which was liable to lead to early elections and impede the implementation of the disengagement plan. [ [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=557041&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y Lapid and Poraz assure Sharon of Shinui's support for budget] ; "Haaretz", 27 March 2005] In Shinui's primary elections held shortly before the 2006 elections, Lapid retained the party leadership. However, his deputy Poraz lost second place on the list. In the ensuing crisis, Poraz and several other Shinui MKs left the party and founded Hetz. Lapid left Shinui two weeks after the vote and announced his support for Poraz's new party, but chose not to be involved in the new party's leadership, instead serving as a figurehead. In the elections, he was allocated the symbolic 120th place on the Hetz list, but the party failed to win a seat.

Non-political activities

On July 2006, Lapid was appointed chairman of Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, a role he called "a sacred duty." He appeared on "Council of Wise Men", a TV show on Israel 10 and hosted his own radio program on Israeli radio Reshet Bet.He was also a former chairman of the Israel Chess Society and served as an honorary member of the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.

Death

Lapid was hospitalized at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv in serious condition on May 30, 2008. [ [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1212041436239&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Former Shinui head Yosef Lapid taken to hospital in serious condition] ; "The Jerusalem Post", 30 May 2008] He died on June 1, 2008, after losing a battle with cancer. [ [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/126359 Former Shinui Party Chairman Yosef (Tommy) Lapid Dead at 77] ; "Israel National News", 1 June 2008]

References

External links

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