Famed hairdresser Vidal Sassoon is dead at 84 and much will be written about his influence and his philosophy of hair design. Perhaps even Mia Farrow will discuss the iconic pixie haircut he gave the actress for “Rosemary’s Baby”. But if you want to know the most significant thing about Sassoon, watch this video about his experience as a volunteer fighter during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. He describes how “crazed” he was to be dive-bombed by British spitfires when those same type of planes, as he explains it, “were defending us in London.” But victory for Israel meant a very deep wellspring of feeling for Sassoon. “That feeling of a homeland at last,” he says, “where nobody could kick you out! It was yours and it was a marvelous feeling.”
Take that Peter Beinart.
And may Sassoon’s memory be for a blessing.