Earlier today the world lost a distinguished insightful mind and I lost one of my best friends. Enzo Apicella, the greater than life, tireless cartoonist passed away in Rome this morning.

Many of my followers had a lot of fun with our A to Zion - The Definitive Israeli Lexicon. The book of alphabetic satire was Enzo’s idea. Enzo saw in me an aphorism artist--that I could get at the truth with few words. He set me to work on a collection of hard-hitting definitions and he produced the relevant cartoons. As always, Enzo illustrated the truths that can’t be reduced into words.

I met Enzo in 2011 and we stayed in close touch since then. Despite his age, Enzo was the liveliest person around. He knew how to enjoy life -- wine, food, garlic and women were his existential mantra. And Enzo delivered, he never missed a day of producing one of his hard hitting cartoons, always in support of the weak and the oppressed, often in support of Palestinians, and critical of the English speaking empire.

The world is crippled without Enzo Apicella.

I am very sad this morning and I am certainly not alone.