Former Senator Joe Lieberman told Jewish Insider on Tuesday in Jerusalem that he won’t be watching the Democratic presidential debates this week — but he’s keeping an eye on the race. 

Asked about the crowded primary field, Lieberman said: “I’m following —but I don’t have much to say.” 

The former senator said he has known “Joe Biden for a long time, we go way back and I have the highest regard for him.” But, he added, he knows many of the other contenders. 

“Amy Klobuchar is a very good friend of mine,” he said. “I had her in a class that I taught at Yale.” So for now, the former senator said, “I’m standing back.”

The former senator said he won’t be able to watch the Democratic debates, and it’s not just because of the seven-hour time difference. “We’re staying with our children in Ramat Beit Shemesh,” Lieberman told JI, “and they don’t have a television!” 

Lieberman spoke to JI on the sidelines of the Shurat Hadin Conference in Jerusalem, where he gave a speech immediately before former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper; former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is slated to address the gathering on Wednesday. 

Lieberman will also be appearing at the Cyber Week conference at Tel Aviv University on Wednesday.