‘A guide rather than a politician’

A former colleague reflects of the life of Yossi Sarid.

By JOSH DELL
Yossi Sarid (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Yossi Sarid
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Yossi Beilin, former colleague and a friend of Yossi Sarid who was buried yesterday at Kibbutz Givat Hashlosha in central Israel, reflected warmly on his relationship with the former Meretz leader, government minister and journalist, describing him as “a guide rather than a politician,” in an interview with The Jerusalem Post.
Speaking on what he would remember most about Sarid, Beilin said that throughout his long and varied life Sarid “decided to do things rather than just raise his voice.”
Beilin said this was evident in how Sarid repeatedly chose to involve himself in Israel’s most troubled communities, from Kiryat Shmona in the 1970s in the midst of rocket attacks to Moshav Margaliot in the early 2000s after Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.
Looking back on Sarid’s achievements, Beilin argued that he served as the Left’s most straightforward representative.
“He was the clearest and most important spokesman of the Zionist Left in Israel in our generation,” Beilin said. “There was no competition with him as an orator, and as a writer, who was very clear and very lucid about the ideas of the Zionist Left while not being ready to compromise on these two issues.”
Beilin said Sarid’s life provides many lessons for future generations, “that the most important thing is not to be too timid in your ideas. If you are sure that you are right, be strong enough and courageous enough to express yourself – that’s what he did.”