  yosef (joseph) "tommy" lapid (, born as tomislav lampel (); 27 december 1931 â 1 june 2008) was an israeli radio and television presenter, journalist, politician and government minister known for his sharp tongue and acerbic wit. 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.schmidt, shira. (3 june 2008) www.cross-currents.com website. cross-currents.com. retrieved on 9 september 2011. ==biography== lapid was born in novi sad, yugoslavia (present-day serbia), to a family of hungarian jewish descent. his family was seized by the nazis and deported to the budapest ghetto. his father was deported to a concentration camp, where he was murdered. lapid and his mother survived the war and moved to israel in 1948. after serving as a mechanic in the israel defense forces, lapid graduated with a law degree from tel aviv university in 1957. he was married to shulamit lapid, an acclaimed novelist.israel's 60th anniversary: 'a jew from morning to night' der spiegel, 8 may 2008 they had three children. their son, yair lapid, is the chairman of yesh atid party, which turned second biggest party in the 2013 israeli elections, and was a columnist and television host. their oldest daughter, michal, was killed in a car accident.[http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,5522
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