Lindsey Graham, a four-term Republican Senator from South Carolina, has just died at the age of 71. He was without a doubt Israel’s best friend in Washington. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said, he sometimes wanted to provide more aid for Israel’s defense than the Israelis themselves requested. In an interview he gave to the Jerusalem Post a few months ago, Senator Graham said “I’ll stand with Israel until the day I die. It is our greatest ally.”
More on the response in Israel to news of his death can be found here: “‘One of Israel’s greatest friends’: Netanyahu, Herzog lead tributes as Israel mourns Lindsey Graham,” by Miriam Sela-Eitam and Amichai Stein, Jerusalem Post, July 12, 2026:
Israeli politicians took to social media to mourn Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham after his sudden death was announced on social media on Sunday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, mourned Graham in a statement on Sunday.
“Lindsey understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable. He devoted his life to defending America, strengthening our alliance and standing up for the free world,” Netanyahu said in his statement. “Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend.”
“Our hearts are with Lindsey’s family and with the American people at this difficult time. May his values and initiatives continue to guide us toward victory and peace, and may his memory forever be a blessing.”
Netanyahu is also considering flying to the US for Graham’s funeral, an Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post, adding that should the prime minister do so, he is likely to meet with US President Donald Trump.
“I am shocked and heartbroken to learn of the sudden passing of the great American patriot, a great friend of Israel, and my dear friend US Senator Lindsey Graham,” President Isaac Herzog said on X/Twitter on Sunday morning.
Herzog called Graham a “beacon of moral clarity and a true leader of the US-Israel partnership.”
“We will never forget how he stood by the people of Israel in our most difficult moments, and we will remain eternally grateful for his sense of justice, truth, and loyalty,” he wrote. “The people of Israel mourn his loss, and I will miss my great friend very dearly.”
Israel lost “one of its greatest friends,” said National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in an English-language post to X on Sunday.
“Senator Lindsey Graham stood with Israel not because it was easy, but because he believed it was right. His unwavering support, courage, and moral clarity earned him the admiration of millions of Israelis,” Ben-Gvir wrote. “The State of Israel will always remember his friendship, his unwavering support, and his steadfast commitment to Israel’s security.”
Ben-Gvir concluded by sending his condolences to Graham’s family and the American people.
“May his memory be a blessing.”
Similarly, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that he was “deeply saddened by the passing of Senator Lindsey Graham.”
Katz added that Graham was one of Israel’s “strongest and most steadfast supporters” and “was an unwavering voice in support of Israel’s security and its right to defend itself.”…
“Following the October 7 massacre, he traveled to Israel time and again, standing shoulder to shoulder with our people in an extraordinary demonstration of solidarity and unwavering friendship. His repeated visits during one of the darkest chapters in Israel’s history reflected his deep commitment to the Jewish state and its right to live in peace and security. “
His death is a tremendous loss for Israel, for America, and for the Western world now under assault from the forces of Islam.
Wellington says
The single greatest friend of the only free country in the Middle East is the Republican Party of the USA and the single greatest Republican in this amity towards Israel was Lyndsey Graham. RIP.
James Lincoln says
Yes, 100% true, Wellington.
somehistory says
The idiot acosta claimed Sen Graham’s death was a “coincidence” in that his dem rival for the next election was gaining on him.
Enemies of Israel are grinning ear to ear.
Rest in peace now Mr. Graham.
Waz says
He will be missed, now Israel has to deal with the anti Israel Trump
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I’m not sure I agree. There have been other senators, like Sen Ted Cruz, who have been every bit as, if not more supportive, of Israel. Lindsay Graham probably stood out b’cos foreign policy was the only thing that he seemed interested in, while not seeming even remotely interested in South Carolina
One thing I do hold against him: after the San Bernardino shootings of 2016, when candidate Trump suggested a temporary ban on all muslims entering the US until “we know what the hell is going on”, Graham was frothing and fuming, and had his strongest condemnation not of the murders that had just taken place, but of Trump. The example he held up of a muslim who should be allowed into the US? King Abdullah of Jordan (whose country has become more hostile to Israel than it was under his father). Besides that, he supported the continual (and endless) presence of US troops in Afghanistan, Iraq and all sorts of places abroad – one of the main reasons for our economic decline
Also, although he spoke out in soundbites about jihadists, the only jihadists that existed in his mind were Hamas, Hizbullah, Houthis and the islamic republic. I have never heard him question the perfidy of other jihad nations like Qatar, Pakistan or Turkey. In fact, has he at all spoken out against Turkey? And here, I don’t mean in the context of Turkey getting S400s from the Kremlin, bad as it might be: I mean Turkey supporting the muslim brotherhood, being a convergence point for ISIS fighters going to Syria, and them bullying not just Israel, but also Armenia, Greece and Cyprus. Also, during the Afghanistan occupation years, I don’t recall him denouncing Pakistan: maybe I missed it
One thing I will give him credit on is about Iran. No, not the denunciations of the islamic regime, but rather, not hooking up w/ the Mojahedeen e-Khalq, which is a communist, islamic cult hated by the Iranian people for their support to Iraq in the 1980s. When so many Republican elder statesmen – Mike Pence, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Pompeo, John Bolton, et al, were endorsing the MeK, Graham was smart enough to hook on to Reza Pahlavi. Although as a senator, he should have stopped at supporting Iran becoming a secular democracy, and allowing Iranians to choose who they want running their transition regime
All that said, RIP, Senator Lindsay Graham
Karen Dowden says
I did not know a lot of this. Thank you. PS I am not a US citizen although I follow what is basically going on – re Republican vs Democrat and foreign policy,.