Lindsey Graham, 71, remembered for 'deep personal connection' to Israel, Jews

(JNS) - The exchange between Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Elena Kagan, during her confirmation hearing for the U.S. Supreme Court on June 29, 2010 is one of the most lighthearted Jewish references in such a venue.

"As we move forward and deal with law of war issues. Christmas Day bomber. Where are you at on Christmas Day?" Graham asked.

"Sen. Graham, that is an undecided legal issue. I suppose, I should ask exactly what you mean by that. I'm assuming that the question you mean is whether a person, who is apprehended in the United States-" "No," Graham cut in. "I just asked where you were at on Christmas."

Kagan laughed. "You know," she said. "Like all Jews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant."

"Great answer. Great answer," Graham said. "That's great. That's what Chanukah and Christmas is all about."

Graham, 71, whose office said at about 2 a.m. on Sunday that he had died after a "brief and sudden illness," is being remembered as one of the closest friends of Jews and of Israel, as well as a great supporter of his South Carolina constituents.

On Sunday evening, Graham's office stated that the senator died from aortic dissection, or a tear in the inner artery to the heart, due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, or hardened arteries leading to the heart, according to the District of Columbia medical examiner's preliminary findings.

"The death certificate will be pending until all the toxicological and microscopic testing are finalized and at that point the death certificate will be updated to reflect the cause of death and appropriately classify the manner of death," the medical examiner said.

U.S. President Donald Trump said that he was "one of the greatest people and senators I have ever known," who "was always working, and was a true American patriot."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the late senator was a "beloved" friend of his, one of Israel's "greatest friends" and an American "great patriot," who "understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable" and "devoted his life to defending America, strengthening our alliance and standing up for the free world."

"Friends like Lindsey Graham come along once in a generation," stated William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. "He was a steadfast champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship, a principled voice on national security and a true friend to the Jewish people."

Daroff told JNS that "Sen. Graham never had to be persuaded that the security of Israel or the concerns of the American Jewish community deserved his attention."

"Over the years, I frequently crossed paths with him in Israel. Time and again, I would be on my way to meet with the prime minister or other senior Israeli leaders, and Sen. Graham would be coming out of those very meetings," he said. "It became a testament to his tireless engagement and his unwavering commitment to strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship."

It is "fitting," Daroff said, that Graham died after coming home from "yet another demanding international trip," this one in Ukraine.

"He led a life of extraordinary energy and purpose, and he never stopped showing up for the people and principles he believed in," he told JNS. "That is how he will be remembered."

Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, told JNS that he met Graham in the late 1990s, after Graham was elected to represent South Carolina's 3rd District in Congress and after Diament began his role at the OU in 1996. Graham was elected to the Senate in 2003.

He was "very quick with a joke," which is part of why Graham was friends with former senators Joe Lieberman and John McCain, all of whom would "crack jokes in very sharp ways," according to Diament.

At a memorial for Lieberman at Washington Hebrew Congregation, a Reform synagogue in Washington, Graham said that Liberman always knew what time sunset was throughout the world because of when Shabbat started.

Graham was at the forefront of defending Israel from the start, and he was always focused on the priorities of Orthodox Jews, including Israel, religious liberty and school choice, and more recently, with the dramatic rise of antisemitism, "he was right there with us as well," according to Diament.

Last year, Graham came to the Orthodox Union's inaugural attorney's conference, where he took part in a panel about fighting Jew-hatred with Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.).

Graham was also a Republican senator who regularly worked across party lines, and the OU event was an example.

A fierce defender of and golf partner to U.S. President Donald Trump, Graham participated in the panel with Goldman, who prosecuted Trump in one of the impeachment inquiries. Graham "had no problem" working with Democrats, Diament said.

The South Carolina senator was a politician, who could alter his stance day-to-day, like when he changed from one of Trump's most harsh critics when both were running for president to one of the president's closest allies after Trump secured the nomination. "He was a politician in the sense of being able to pivot or reverse himself in that way," Diament said.

But Graham also had fundamental beliefs, which he never changed, like his support for a "strong U.S.-Israel relationship, fighting Iran and all of its terrorism and its nuclear weapons, and domestically, religious liberty, school choice and his support of families," Diament told JNS.

"Those are things that he never wavered on," he said. "He was a pleasure to be around, and he will be sorely missed."

AIPAC said that it mourns the death of "a great friend and true champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship."

Graham "played a vital role in confronting the threats posed by Iran" and "led the fight to impose sanctions that hold Iran and its proxies accountable, and he spoke with moral clarity about the need for the United States to stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel against common enemies," according to AIPAC.

"Through his leadership, he helped build bipartisan coalitions that made clear America would never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon," the group stated.

"AIPAC is grateful for his lifetime of service to America and his determination to ensure the alliance between the United States and Israel remains strong for generations to come," it said. "His leadership, friendship and moral conviction made a lasting difference, and his memory will be a blessing to all who care about the security of the United States, Israel, and our shared democratic values."

The American Jewish Committee stated that Graham was an "unwavering proponent of the U.S.-Israel relationship, consistently backing legislation and funding for missile defense, security cooperation and combating the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement."

"Over the 843 days that hostages were held in Gaza following Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack, Sen. Graham frequently met with families of those kidnapped, elevating their voices until they were all home. Resolute in his understanding of the dangers the Iranian regime poses to the Middle East, the U.S. and the international community, Sen. Graham pushed for strong sanctions against the regime and those who support it," the AJC said. "Even in the face of mounting pressure from his own party and political allies, Sen. Graham remained unshakable in his support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people against Putin's war of aggression."

"Having just met with President Zelensky on Friday, the senator long supported military assistance, sanctions against Russia, a stronger NATO alliance and a U.S. posture that recognized defeating Russia was in the U.S. national interest," it said. "The loss of his voice on these issues is profound."

The Republican Jewish Coalition stated that Graham was a "great man, a true friend to the Jewish community, a lion of the U.S. Senate for South Carolina and an American patriot."

"Whatever the moment, whatever the political weather, we always knew we could count on Lindsey to stand with us. That kind of loyalty is rare in this town, and we felt it every time," the RJC said.

"Sen. Graham traveled to Israel dozens of times over the decades, including just 15 days after the Oct. 7 massacre, guided by a simple axiom he repeated for years: 'Israel's security is America's security,'" the RJC added.

Ofir Akunis, consul general of Israel in New York, stated that Graham was "a true warrior for the free world and a steadfast defender of the truth and historical justice," who "loved Israel and was a true American patriot."

Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of American, stated that Graham was "a great American patriot and a friend of mine," who was "a most sincere and heartfelt friend of and advocate for the Jewish people and the Jewish state" who "fought for strong U.S. Israel relations and fought those who were hostile to Israel."

"Sen. Graham also understood the dangers posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran to America and the West and fought to minimize and eliminate that danger. He would always make clear that whatever endangers Israel also endangers

America," Klein said. "What a terrible loss. He will be sorely missed."