
Israeli GPO photographer · Public domain
Tommy Lapid
Israeli radio and television presenter, journalist
1931 – 2008aged 76
Tommy Lapid, born Tomislav Lampel in Yugoslavia, survived the Holocaust as a child before rebuilding a career in Israel as a journalist and broadcaster known for a sharp, combative wit. He entered politics late, founding the secular-liberal Shinui party and leading it from 1999 to 2006 on a platform of separating religion from the Israeli state; his son Yair Lapid later became prime minister.