Tommy Lapid
Tommy Lapid | |
---|---|
Minister of Justice | |
Faction represented in the Knesset | |
1999–2006 | Shinui |
2006 | Secular Faction |
Other roles | |
2005 | Leader of the Opposition |
2005 | Shadow Prime Minister |
2005 | Shadow Vice Prime Minister |
Personal details | |
Born | Tomislav Lampel 27 December 1931 Novi Sad, Yugoslavia |
Died | 1 June 2008 Tel Aviv, Israel | (aged 76)
Children | 3, including Yair Lapid |
Yosef "Tommy" Lapid (Hebrew: יוסף "טומי" לפיד; born Tomislav Lampel [Serbian Cyrillic: Томислав Лампел]; 27 December 1931 – 1 June 2008) was a Yugoslav-born Israeli radio and television presenter, playwright, journalist, politician and government minister known for his sharp tongue and acerbic wit.[1] Lapid headed the secular-liberal Shinui party from 1999 to 2006. He fiercely opposed the ultra-Orthodox political parties and actively sought to exclude any religious observance from the legal structure of the Israeli State.[2] He was the father of Yair Lapid, who served as the 14th Prime Minister of Israel in 2022.
Biography
Lapid was born in
Media career
Lapid started out as a journalist for the Israeli Hungarian-language newspaper Új Kelet.[7] Later, he was hired by the mainstream daily Maariv, where he became an influential publicist, and went on to become director-general of the Israel Broadcasting Authority and chairman of the Cable TV Union. He was also the founding editor of Israeli women's magazine At, as well as a successful playwright.
In the 1990s Lapid was a regular guest on the political talk show Popolitika aired on Channel 1 which often turned into a shouting match; later on he moved to the Channel 2 talk show, Politika.
In October 1994, on a Canada AM TV show interview with ex-Mossad agent Victor Ostrovsky, journalist Valerie Pringle spoke by phone with Lapid regarding recent inflammatory comments he had made on Popolitika regarding Ostrovsky and his latest book, "The Other Side of Deception." Lapid reiterated his earlier comments that he felt Ostrovsky was a traitor to Israel and hoped that "there will be a decent Jew in Canada who can assassinate him for us."[8][9][10]
Lapid was awarded the Sokolov Award, Israel's top award in journalism, in 1998, for his weekly radio show.[7]
Political career
In the late 1990s, Lapid joined
It was suggested that Israel's pro-Serbian position in 1999, was a result of the Serbian population's history of saving Jews during the
Between 2001 and 2006, Lapid, via a bill passed by the Knesset, established the commission of "Future Generations", headed by retired judge Shlomo Shoham, an office that was later closed down by a bill which was passed by then Knesset member and Chairman of the Knesset Committee, Yariv Levin, on the grounds that the commission was a "big malfunction" in which "a commissioner sits above us while we're the elected officials. Apparently, this commissioner was granted the 'prophecy' that he knows what is best for future generations." In a rebuttal, Shoham stated that "the Chairman of the Knesset Committee does not understand the essence of the position of "Commissioner of Future Generations" within the checks and balances of democracy."[12]
The tension between Shinui and Likud grew when the ultra-Orthodox party
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.[14] In the ensuing crisis, Poraz and several other Shinui MKs left the party and founded Hetz.[citation needed] Lapid left Shinui two weeks after the vote and announced his support for Poraz's new party,[15] but chose not to be involved in the new party's leadership, instead of 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. [citation needed]
Non-political activities
In July 2006, Lapid was appointed Advisory Board Chairman of Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, a role he called "a sacred duty".[1]
He appeared on Council of Wise Men, an Israeli television program on
Death
Lapid was hospitalized at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv in serious condition on 30 May 2008.[16] He died on 1 June 2008, aged 76, after a battle with cancer.[17]
Other
In March 2011, street Nova 30 in Veternik, a suburb of Novi Sad, was renamed to ulica Tomija Josefa Lapida (Serbian for "Tommy Joseph Lapid Street").[18][19]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Joseph Lapid, journalist and ex-justice minister of Israel, dies at 77". International Herald Tribune. 1 June 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ Schmidt, Shira. (3 June 2008) www.cross-currents.com website. Cross-currents.com. Retrieved on 9 September 2011.
- ^ "Straight Talk". PressReader. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ Baruch Tenembaum. "Tommy Lapid". The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ a b Israel's 60th Anniversary: 'A Jew from Morning to Night', Der Spiegel, 8 May 2008
- ^ "Who is Yair Lapid?". Haaretz. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ a b Asaf Carmel (1 June 2008). "Olmert pays tribute to Yosef Lapid calling him a 'Jew through and through'". Haaretz. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ISBN 9781846948763. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ "The Contrasting Media Treatment of Israeli and Islamic Death Threats". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. January 1995.
- ^ "Ex-mossad Agent Files Suit, Claiming On-air Death Plea". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 12 February 1995.
- ^ Russia or Ukraine? For some Israelis, Holocaust memories are key Haaretz, By David Landau, 15 Apr. 2014
- ^ Zarchia, Zvi; Bassuk, Moti (1 December 2010). "Why was the Commission for Future Generations abolished and what does this mean for the future of the country?" (in Hebrew). TheMarker. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ "Lapid and Poraz assure Sharon of Shinui's support for budget" Haaretz, 27 March 2005
- ^ "Report: Poraz refuses offer to rejoin Shinui after quitting". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- ^ "לאחר שבועיים של שתיקה - הודיע יו"ר שינוי טומי לפיד על פרישתו מהמפלגה". TheMarker. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- ^ Former Shinui head Yosef Lapid taken to hospital in serious condition[permanent dead link]; The Jerusalem Post, 30 May 2008
- Israel National News, 1 June 2008
- ^ Otkrivena Tabla Sa Imenom Tomija Josefa Lapida Archived 7 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Novisad.rs (15 March 2011). Retrieved on 9 September 2011.
- ^ OpenStreetMap
External links
- Tommy Lapid on the Knesset website
- Tommy Lapid: Champion of secularism in Israel on The Independent