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Former Israeli minister and journalist Yosef (Tommy) Lapid. (Nir Kafri) Last update - 19:45 01/06/2008 Olmert pays tribute to Yosef Lapid calling him a 'Jew through and through' By Asaf Carmel, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service Tags: Yad Vashem council  Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday paid tribute to former cabinet member and close friend Yosef (Tommy) Lapid, who died at age 77 earlier in the day, saying "he was a Jew through and through." "We have lost a dear man, a dear Jew and an irreplaceable friend," Olmert continued. Lapid succumbed to cancer early Sunday. He was hospitalized some six months ago after suffering a heart attack in his home. Advertisement Lapid was "a Holocaust survivor who lived and breathed Jewish fate, Jewish history and the Jewish future throughout his life," Olmert said. The prime minister met Lapid for the last time on Tuesday when he visited him at Ichilov Hospital. His visit came shortly after the testimony of American fundraiser Morris Talansky, a key witness in the corruption investigation currently underway against Olmert. Olmert sat by Lapid's bedside for two hours. During that time, the pair spoke very little as Lapid passed in and out of consciousness. On Thursday, Lapid phoned Olmert's office, after which the prime minister returned the call at 8 P.M., and the two spoke to each other for the last time. Journalist Amnon Dankner, a close friend of Lapid's, said that, "His mouth and heart were alike, and he was as loyal to himself as he was loyal to his family and to the people he loved. He was also not a man who was hated by his opponents." Dankner added: "He had a huge appetite for life. He was a very educated man with a very broad understanding. A man who renewed himself every day. He will leave a huge void in my heart, which never be filled." Even Lapid's many adversaries had kind words for him. "He was a man whose mouth and soul were on equal ground," Aryeh Deri, a former leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, told Army Radio. "You knew that what he had to say to you he would say to your face." Lapid headed the Shinui Party, which sought to curb the growing political power of ultra-Orthodox parties. During the 16th Knesset, he served as justice minister and deputy prime minister. A Holocaust survivor born under the name Tomislav Lampel in Benovitz, Serbia, Lapid later left politics to become chairman of the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial council. During the war, his father was taken to a concentration camp and was killed two weeks before liberation. Lapid and his mother were placed with a group of Jews in Budapest whom the Nazis planned on killing along the banks of the river Danube. He was saved at the last minute, however, after his mother hid him and herself inside a toilet. "As I've said, there I became a Zionist," Lapid told Haaretz in a 1995 interview, "because there I understood that there is not enough space in the whole world for a 13-year-old Jewish boy - so there must be one place for us. In Israel." Lapid subsequently immigrated to Israel with his mother three years after the war at the age of 17. He was immediately drafted into the Israel Defense Forces, where he served as a mechanic. Later on, he studied law at Tel Aviv University, and began to write for the Hungarian-language newspaper Uj Kelet, under the tutelage of author and satirist Ephraim Kishon. Kishon soon presented him to the founding editor of the Maariv daily newspaper, Azriel Carlebach, who employed Lapid as his personal assistant. It was Carlebach who suggested Lapid Hebraicize his name from Lampel. Among the top journalists in Israel, Lapid later served as part of the editorial staff at Ma'ariv, as financial director of the Broadcasting Authorities, as a member of the television program Popolitica, and as chairman of the cable television union. He was awarded the Sokolov Prize in 1998. Lapid was first elected to the Knesset in the 1999 elections, in which his party gained six mandates. In the 16th Knesset, after the 2003 elections, Shinui reached the peak of its strength, receiving fifteen mandates. In the government subsequently formed, Lapid served under prime minister Ariel Sharon as justice minister and deputy prime minister. Shinui pulled out of the government in December 2004 in protest against a decision to transfer hundreds of millions of shekels to the ultra-Orthodox sector. Lapid was then appointed opposition leader. The condition of his party, though, deteriorated from this point on until its final collapse, evidenced the 2006 elections in which it did not gain any Knesset seats. Lapid is survived by his wife, the writer Shulamit Lapid, his daughter Meirav and his son Yair, the Channel 2 News presenter and Yedioth Ahronot newspaper columnist. Lapid's oldest daughter Michal died in a road accident in 1984. Related articles: Lapid and Poraz assure Sharon of Shinui's support for budget Yad Vashem Council Chair slams settlers for abusing Palestinians Rabbi Yosef and 'Rabbi' Lapid Bookmark to del.icio.us   Building Google How an Israeli hi-tech guru inspired Google's 'magic formula'. La femme Tzipi Colleagues regale the Sunday Times with stories of Livni's days on a Mossad hit team.   1.   Tommy Lapid will be sorely missed 07:59  |  Janos Damon 01/06/08   2.   RIP Tommy 08:10  |  JR 01/06/08   3.   He meant well 08:25  |  Dror 01/06/08   4.   With all the progress, development, and accomplishments 08:31  |  Dror 01/06/08   5.   Blessed be his memory 08:35  |  SJ 01/06/08   6.   Medecine Failed In The War Against Cancer , Condoleances To His F 08:41  |  Joseph . E 01/06/08   7.   The Old Guard is on the way out 08:47  |  Meir Weinstein 01/06/08   8.   Tommy Lapid leaves a big void 09:15  |  Prof. Jaime Krejner 01/06/08   9.   Tommy 09:18  |  Nathan Rozenfarb 01/06/08   10.   RIP Tommy 09:21  |  Big Sooz 01/06/08   11.   R.I.P 09:29  |  Northern 01/06/08   12.   Yosef (Tommy) Lapid 09:33  |  Benny 01/06/08   13.   TOMMY 09:53  |  THE TEACHER/INSTRUCT 01/06/08   14.   Another reason for the leftists to mourn ... 09:56  |  Binyamin Dissen 01/06/08   15.   Tommy`s interlude with Tim Sebastian 10:06  |  Gimpel the Fool 01/06/08   16.   Yosef Lapid dies at 77 10:16  |  Gerald Zang 01/06/08   17.   He was never parve 11:14  |  sh 01/06/08   18.   Baruch Dayan Ha`emet 11:36  |  Tom 01/06/08   19.   no criticism allowed- not tommy`s way 12:56  |  arze 01/06/08   20.   Yosef lapid Z"L 13:01  |  David Nigel Braham 01/06/08   21.   I would have expected more comments 15:01  |  Dror 01/06/08   22.   Tommy Lapid, Gadol Hador. Period 15:35  |  Dany 01/06/08   23.   Incredible life and incredible survivor 15:59  |  Smadar 01/06/08   24.   sign of the times 17:17  |  michael 01/06/08   25.   yosef lapid 17:51  |  sonny k 01/06/08   26.   An example to follow 18:50  |  Gilles 01/06/08   27.   Very inciteful Dror 19:29  |  Avi 01/06/08   28.   That`s A Compliment by Deri???? 19:39  |  B`Galil 01/06/08   29.   That`s A Compliment by Deri???? 19:40  |  b`Galil 01/06/08   30.   Olmert`s priorities 19:48  |  Charlie 01/06/08   31.   Dror wrong - they won`t publish comments n/t 19:52  |  Jak black 01/06/08   32.   On equal ground 19:53  |  Meir 01/06/08   33.   Jak Black 20:42  |  Dror 01/06/08   34.   He spoke his truth 20:44  |  martin kalson 01/06/08   35.   Israel`s government 21:08  |  Dror 01/06/08   36.   RIP, Tommy. 23:55  |  syd 01/06/08   37.   Olmert is by his side? 23:55  |  Meir Weinstein 01/06/08   38.   Olmert 2 hours by his side 23:57  |  fred 01/06/08   39.   Gimpel the fool 00:19  |  Cyasher 02/06/08   40.   how would olmert know what it means to be a jew 03:24  |  zionist forever 02/06/08   41.   If we bury his politics too, 05:56  |  Ilan 02/06/08   42.   Reading of Yosef Lapid on Ma`an News... 06:56  |  Maureen Ann 02/06/08   43.   He called a spade a spade 07:23  |  Dutch 02/06/08   44.   What exactly was Jewish about him? 10:19  |  Philip 02/06/08   45.   Good riddance! 11:45  |  Simon Rolston 02/06/08   46.   If Doris Dutch Cadigan supports Lapid 14:59  |  Dror 02/06/08   47.   A man who suffered in the Holocaust should be given a free pass 18:01  |  John Bloomstein 02/06/08   48.   Yosef Lapid a man with good intentions... 20:21  |  Ulf 02/06/08

Read & React Who didn't attend New York's pro-Israel march? Israelis Responses: 125 Lebanese sources: Hezbollah still holding on to more Israeli remains Responses: 76 John McCain: U.S. is committed to preventing a second Holocaust Responses: 103 Defense Minister Barak: Hamas is exhibiting signs of distress Responses: 64 Akiva Eldar: Olmert should keep his vows to the Palestinians Responses: 25 Rosner's Domain The ultimate challenge for Pastor Hagee New Guest: Why educate child as Jew when he is not Jewish? McCain on Iran: we are committed to preventing second holocaust (WTR) The next seven months in the Middle East Poll: What political option is better for Israel? More Headlines 17:52 Doctors identify three IDF soldiers among remains handed over by Hezbollah 18:35 Three Israeli Arabs charged with planning to kidnap, kill soldier 19:09 Macain tells AIPAC: Obama meet with Ahmedinijad would be earful of anti-Semitic rants 15:31 Thousands attend funeral of Yosef Lapid; Olmert: He was my most loyal friend 19:33 Olmert to Abbas: PA bid to curb our Europe ties 'unacceptable' 18:34 Barak says general elections this year are 'entirely possible' 18:45 Syria allows IAEA to investigate reported secret nuclear site 20:19 U.S. imam fighting deportation talks of torture in Israeli detention 20:05 Barak to demand extra NIS 400m to boost Gaza border communities security 15:43 Defense Minister Barak: Hamas is exhibiting signs of distress 19:21 U.S. reinstates scholarships of Gaza students blocked exit permits by Israel 16:10 Gaydamak TV attack on police brass may spur criminal probe 16:46 Internet domain name 'Israel.com' sold for $5.88 million Previous Editions Select Day 01 jun 30 may 29 may 28 may 27 may 26 may 25 may 23 may 22 may 21 may 20 may 19 may

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