show. Political career In the late 1990s, Lapid joined Avraham Poraz's Shinui party, which boosted the party's standing in the Israeli political scene. Lapid became party chairman and Shinui won six seats in the 1999 elections, with Lapid entering the Knesset for the first time. In the 2003 elections the party ran on a secularist platform and won 15 seats, making it the third-largest in the Knesset after Likud and Labour. Shinui was invited to join the government of Ariel Sharon and Lapid was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice. It was suggested that Israel's pro-Serbian position in 1999, was a result of the Serbian population's history of saving Jews during the holocaust, personal memories of which were still present among older Israeli politicians serving in government at the time such as Lapid. The tension between Shinui and Likud grew when the ultra-Orthodox party Agudat Yisrael was brought into the coalition. Shinui could not implement many of its electoral promises, such as instituting civil marriage, and a dispute erupted over state aid to religious institutions. As a result, Shinui quit the coalition in December 2004. In late March 2005, Lapid voted in favor of the budget in exchange for minor concessions in order to keep the government from falling, which was liable to lead to early elections and impede the implementation of the disengagement plan. In Shinui's primary elections held shortly before the 2006 elections, Lapid retained the party leadership. However, his deputy Poraz lost second place on the list. In the ensuing crisis, Poraz and several other Shinui MKs left the party and founded Hetz. Lapid left Shinui two weeks after the vote and announced his support for Poraz's new party, but chose not to be involved in the new party's leadership, instead of serving as a figurehead. In the elections, he was allocated the symbolic 120th place on the Hetz list, but the party failed to win a seat. Non-political activities In July 2006, Lapid was appointed Advisory Board Chairman of Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, a role he called "a sacred duty". He appeared on Council of Wise Men, an Israeli television program on Israel 10 channel. He hosted his own radio program on Reshet Bet. He also was a chairman of the Israel Chess Society and served as an honorary member of the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. Death Lapid was hospitalized