Yosef (Tommy) Lapid, 76, a Holocaust survivor who rose to prominence in Israel as a defender of secular Jews, died Sunday after a long battle with cancer.
Demanding "separation of synagogue and state," Lapid entered politics late in life to lead an obscure party to a foothold in Parliament in 1999. He capitalized on middle-class ire at the welfare benefits and exemptions from military service enjoyed by Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish minority.
Four years later, his Shinui party improved its standing and became the second-largest bloc in the governing coalition of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Lapid was named justice minister.
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