Yitzhak Shargil was buried at the cemetery in Holon, near Tel Aviv today. Hundreds of friends and professional colleagues joined members of his family at the funeral services where Shargil, a leading journalist and Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent for more than 20 years, was eulogized for his selfless devotion to many institutions and courses in Israel.
Shargil died of a massive heart attack yesterday at the age of 53. He was closely involved in the work of B’nai B’rith in Israel. He served on the executive board of the Soldier Welfare Association for some 20 years and was associated with the Moccobi World Union since his youth in Tel Aviv. Both organizations sent wreaths to his funeral, carried by young women soldiers and a troop of young Moccobi members.
In addition a serving as the JTA’s Tel Aviv correspondent since the mid-1950s, Shargil was an editor of Yediot Achronot, Israel’s largest daily newspaper. He began his cancer in journalism on the staff of the newspaper Haboker, now defunct. His last assignment for the JTA and Yediot Achronot took him to Egypt where he covered the State visit of President Yitzhak Navon last month.
(In New York today, Martin S. Fox, President of JTA, issued the following statement: “We are deeply grieved at the untimely death of our dear friend and co-worker, Yitzhak Shargil who has been our Tel Aviv correspondent for more than 23 years. His reportage was an important link in the JTA world-wide news network which will be difficult to replace. His dedication, interest, concern, outstanding service and warm personality endeared him to all of us. Our deepest sympathy to his wife, Dvora and family.”)
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
