Former journalist and Justice Minister Yosef (Tommy) Lapid died Sunday morning after a battle with cancer. He was 77.
Lapid served as the chairman of the Shinui party and as a minister in Ariel Sharon's government. Under his leadership, the party won six Knesset seats. In the subsequent elections in 2003, the party won a stunning 15 seats. The successful showing prompted Shinui to join the Sharon-led government and Lapid was appointed as deputy prime minister and justice minister.
A Holocaust survivor, Lapid lit the memorial torch this year at the Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem where he served as chairman of the council. Recently he went back to writing opinion pieces.