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(June 1, 2008 - Jerusalem) Yad
Vashem mourns the passing of Joseph (Tommy) Lapid.
Lapid, a Holocaust survivor, served as Chairman of the Yad
Vashem Council since July 2006. He was born in 1931 in
Novi-Sad, Yugoslavia, emigrated to Israel in 1948, and became
a journalist and director general of the Israel Broadcasting
Authority. He served for seven years in the Knesset, two of
them as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice. A
resident of Tel Aviv, Lapid held a law degree, and was married
to the author Shlomit Lapid, and father to Yair and Merav.
At the time of his appointment as Chairman of the Yad Vashem
Council, Lapid said: “As a refugee of the Holocaust, I regard
the commemoration of the Holocaust, now and in the future, for
the young and old, in Israel and abroad, a sacred duty.”
Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner Shalev said
today, “Memory of the Holocaust was a basic part of Tommy’s
identity. As a Holocaust survivor he shared his experiences
with the public, including senior visitors and international
leaders. With great courage he related to them the legacy of
the Holocaust, and how it is relevant to them today.”
The Yad Vashem Law (passed by the Knesset in 1953) established
the Yad Vashem Council, a public body of 120 members that
meets once a year. It operates alongside the Yad Vashem
Directorate.
Yad Vashem sends its condolences to the entire Lapid family.
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