Israeli leaders on Thursday issued condolences over the passing of longtime US Senator Joe Lieberman.
Prime Ministern Benjamin Netanyahu called Lieberman one of the most decent and honest public officials he had ever met. “May the Leiberman family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem,” wrote the Israeli leader.
Sara and I grieve with Hadassah and the entire Leiberman family on the passing of our beloved Joe Leiberman.
Joe was an exemplary public servant, an American patriot and a matchless champion of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
In my very first meeting with him…
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 27, 2024
Former Israeli ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, called Lieberman his “personal hero” and an unwavering defender of the Jewish state.
I am deepened saddened by the passing of Senator Joe Lieberman. A great champion of freedom, an unstinting defender of Israel and the Jewish people, and my personal hero and friend. To Hadassah and the entire Lieberman family, I join with Jews everywhere in expressing our…
— Michael Oren (@DrMichaelOren) March 28, 2024
Dani Dayan, chairman of the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem and former head of the Yesha Council, said he had always been impressed by Lieberman’s dedication to the “Jewish community in general and in everything related to the State of Israel in particular…. I was privileged to benefit from his advice.”
הלילה נפטר הסנטור לשעבר ג׳ו ליברמן, יהודי שכפסע (ויש שיגידו: החלטה שיפוטית שגויה) הפריד בינו לבין סגנות נשיאות ארה״ב. תמיד הרשימה אותי מעורבותו הפעילה כל כך בחיי הקהילה היהודית בכלל ובכל מה שקשור למדינת ישראל בפרט, מצד איש ציבור כל כך בכיר. זכיתי ליהנות מעצותיו. יהי זכרו ברוך. pic.twitter.com/A56vuIsaSR
— דני דיין (@dandayan) March 28, 2024
Member of Knesset and former Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, wrote that Lieberman was a man of truth, and that “Zionism flowed through his veins.”
“Joe was a personal friend of mine and a great friend of the people of Israel,” added Danon. “He will be greatly missed.”
ג’ו ליברמן שכיהן כסנטור בכיר והיה מועמד לתפקיד סגן נשיא ארה״ב הלך לעולמו.
ג׳ו היה חבר אישי שלי וחבר ענק של עם ישראל.
האיש שעשה היסטוריה בתור הסנאטור היהודי האורתודוקסי הראשון.
איש שהאמת נר לרגליו והציונות זורמת בעורקיו.
רק בחג הסוכות האחרון פגשתי אותו בביקור בחברון – “אין מקום… pic.twitter.com/7aCxJMsClr— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) March 28, 2024
Lieberman was a Democrat, but championed a conservative foreign policy, often to the benefit of Israel. He later left the party and continued his career as an independent, before retiring from the US Senate in 2013.
He was the first Jewish candidate included on a US presidential election ticket, and nearly became Vice President of the United States in the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore.
