First Orthodox Jewish senator Joe Lieberman dead at 82

Former Senator from Connecticut and one-time Vice Presidential candidate, Joe Lieberman, has passed away at the age of 82 according. According to a Punchbowl News X post, citing his family, the former Senator died of complications he suffered from a fall.

Lieberman served 24 years as a Senator from Connecticut and was the first Orthodox Jew to occupy that office. He observed the Sabbath, kashrut, and opposed sex and violence on TV and media outlets.

Lieberman was a strong supporter of Israel and worked in by-partisan forums to oppose the Iran Nuclear Deal and strengthen the push for peace with the Gulf States. He worked closely with Israeli leaders, including current Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and supported former President Trump's moves to transfer the US embassy to Jerusalem and officially recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli territory.

Joe Lieberman and Binyamin Netanyahu (Photo: Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Lieberman was vocal in his opposition to Bill Clinton in the Monica Lewinski affair and ran on the Democratic vice presidential ticket in 2000 with Al Gore. He was the first Jew nominated for the position by either party. That race proved unsuccessful as George W. Bush ended up winning the race. However, Lieberman worked closely with Bush in the post-9/11 years, siding with the US war on terror.

The Jewish Senator lost a lot of left-wing support due to his hard stance on terror and eventually gave up his Senate seat to Ned Lamont in 2006. Just a few days ago, Lieberman sharply criticized Senate Leader Chuck Schumer for his anti-Israel comments, calling them "outrageous" and "a mistake."

Lieberman is survived by his his wife Hadassah, children and grandchildren, some of whom made Aliyah to Israel in 2018. Prime Minister Netanyahu eulogized his long-time friend in an X post, calling him, "an exemplary public servant, an American patriot and a matchless champion of the Jewish people and the Jewish state."