EXHIBIT 99.1

                                                          INVESTOR CONTACT:
                                                                   Tim Iris
                                                      Phone: (631) 847-3169
                                                          tiris@gensemi.com

                                                            MEDIA CONTACTS:
                                    George Sard/David Reno/Jonas Leddington
                                                    Citigate Sard Verbinnen
                                                      Phone: (212) 687-8080



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


         GENERAL SEMICONDUCTOR REITERATES ITS REJECTION OF VISHAY
                        INTERTECHNOLOGY'S PROPOSAL

MELVILLE, NY, APRIL 25, 2001 - General Semiconductor, Inc. (NYSE: SEM), a
leading manufacturer of power management devices, today reiterated its
rejection of Vishay Intertechnology Inc.'s (NYSE: VSH) April 2, 2001
acquisition proposal and reaffirmed its commitment to maximizing long-term
stockholder value.

Ronald Ostertag, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of General
Semiconductor, today sent the following letter to Vishay in response to
Vishay's April 24 letter:


April 25, 2001

Dr. Felix Zandman
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Vishay Intertechnology
Corporate Headquarters
63 Lincoln Hwy
Malvern, PA 19355

Dear Dr. Zandman:

We have received your letter of April 24, 2001 which restates the
conditional proposal you made in your April 2, 2001 letter. Our Board of
Directors recognizes its fiduciary duties to its stockholders and, in
conjunction with advice from its outside financial and legal advisors,
carefully considered and, ultimately, rejected that proposal and sees no
reason to reconsider their determination. Furthermore, we have spoken to
most of our major stockholders, and they do support the Board's approach
and its rejection of your proposal. Simply stated, your proposal was
considered and rejected.

In addition, your patent infringement allegation is disruptive and appears
self-serving. We find the timing of this non-specific, unsubstantiated
allegation and its inclusion in your letter regarding our rejection of your
proposal an attempt to be coercive. We are not aware of any patent
infringement issue.

Our Board continues to be committed to maximizing value for its
stockholders and acting in the best interests of General Semiconductor, its
stockholders, employees and other constituencies.

Sincerely yours,

Ronald A. Ostertag
Chairman of the Board, President and
Chief Executive Officer

ABOUT GENERAL SEMICONDUCTOR
General Semiconductor, Inc. is a market leader in the design, manufacture
and distribution of power semiconductor components. The Company provides
customers with a broad array of power management products including
rectifiers, transient voltage suppressors, small signal transistors, diodes
and MOSFETs. Its global customer base includes original equipment
manufacturers, electronic distributors and contract equipment
manufacturers. Key markets for its products include automotive, computers,
consumer and telecommunications equipment.

         VISIT GENERAL SEMICONDUCTOR ON THE WEB AT www.gensemi.com
                                                  ----------------

The information set forth above includes "forward-looking" information,
and, accordingly, the cautionary statements contained in Exhibit 99 to the
Company's Form 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission are
incorporated herein by reference. General Semiconductor's actual results
could differ materially from the "forward-looking" information in this
press release.