Sheva Weiss, a Holocaust survivor and former Knesset speaker who was on stage with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin minutes before Rabin was assassinated, died on Saturday at the age of 87.
Weiss also served as ambassador to Poland, where he was welcomed to deepen bilateral ties between the nations, and led the council at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem memorial.
Weiss was born in 1935 in Boryslaw, Poland, now in Ukraine. He and several relatives survived the Holocaust when they were aided by Polish and Ukrainian neighbors and friends.
“As a six-year-old, I needed help. And we were helped by our neighbors from Borislav, simple but heroic people. Let us remember that in Poland, everyone who helped the Jews was executed immediately and without trial,” Weiss Remembered that In an interview published in 2018.
Weiss explained that at one stage, the family hid in a 60-centimeter-wide (2-foot-wide) cavity.
“My father prepared a hiding place for us: between the wall of our store and the wall of the warehouse behind the cabinet he made a room about 60 cm wide, where we all hid: my parents, my sister, my brother And me, my mom’s sister, her husband and son. Our neighbors were Bachman, too,” Weiss said. “My father prepared it well: he made bunks one on top of the other, right up to the ceiling. We had to lie down all day.
“There we ate a piece of black and shriveled bread, a piece for the day, a piece filled with dirty water. Through a crack in the north wall, I saw a road leading through the woods. This is how Ukrainians would pass on holidays and feast days on their way to church,” Weiss Said Yad Vashem.
“From this path, the soldiers led the Jewish men and women into the woods and then we heard gunshots. Once I looked through this crack through the daily death march and among the marchers, I saw my aunt and her children, my cousins, ”he recalled.
The neighbors and friends of Weiss who helped the family hide were later recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations for their bravery.
In 1947, twenty youth moved to British Mandate Palestine, later Israel, as part of aliyah. According to Haaretz, he is known for his exceptional memory, and has written several puzzle books as well as presenting a radio show.
Weiss studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and later became a professor at the University of Haifa. He entered public political life in 1969 with his election to the Haifa municipal council.
Weiss served on the local council until 1981, when he was elected to the Knesset on a Labor Party slate.
Weiss served on several committees in parliament over the years, and was elected Knesset speaker during Rabin’s second government from 1992 to 1996.
Weiss stands on stage to sing “Song for Peace” with Rabin and Shimon Peres at the end of a peace rally in Tel Aviv on November 4, 1995. At the conclusion of the song, Rabin exited the stage and was assassinated by Yigal Amir, a Jewish extremist.
From right to left, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Miri Aloni, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Knesset Speaker Sheva Weiss sing the ‘Song for Peace’ at the end of a rally in Tel Aviv, Saturday, November 4, 1995. Rabin was murdered. He left the rally minutes later. (AP Photo, File)
Weiss managed only a low position on the Labor Party slate before the May 1999 elections, and did not make it into the Knesset.
Instead, he was appointed as Israel’s envoy to Poland, a position he served from 2000 to 2004. Weiss won many honors in Poland and was awarded the country’s highest honour, the Order of the White Eagle.
President of Poland Andrzej Duda presenting the honor to Weiss at a ceremony in Jerusalem in 2017 called Weiss as “a son of the Jewish nation and Polish soil” and lauded his role in fostering closer ties between Israel and Poland.
Weiss also served as chairman of the Yad Vashem Council from 2000 to 2006.
Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid praised Weiss, listing his many achievements.
“Above all he was an Israeli who loved the people and his homeland. In his special way he reached many hearts, always with a pipe in his hand and a good story to tell,” Lapid tweeted. “I express my deepest condolences to his family and friends. May he be blessed May be of memory.
Labor Party leader Merv Michaeli said that Weiss “believes in the restoration of relations with the countries where he tried to destroy us.”
Micheli tweeted, Weiss was “an Israeli patriot and Polish knight”.
Weiss was married to Dr. Esther Weiss until her death in 2005. He is survived by two children and one grandchild.
His funeral will take place on Sunday at 2:30 pm at Mount Herzl Cemetery in Jerusalem.
