Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) was “an American patriot and a proud Jew,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a Wednesday memorial service that brought together a bipartisan mix of Lieberman’s admirers.

Speaking at Washington Hebrew Congregation hours before a high-stakes appearance on Capitol Hill, Netanyahu said he first met Lieberman in the 1980s, when the latter was attorney general of Connecticut: “What struck me first when I met him was his moral clarity and his moral courage.” 

Lieberman, who died in March at 82, was “unfaltering in his integrity, decency and loyalty,” Netanyahu said. “He was an American patriot and a proud Jew who steadfastly stood with Israel and the Jewish people, especially during trying times. It’s especially during these trying times that I miss him even more.” 

The prime minister said that Lieberman “expressed his support [for Israel] literally to the end of his life . Hours before his death, he was editing a statement…that ‘Israel must be allowed to achieve its goal of destroying Hamas.’  He understood that what is at stake in this war is the survival of the Jewish state and hence the survival of the Jewish people.”

The prime minister said that Lieberman “expressed his support [for Israel] literally to the end of his life  … He understood that what is at stake in this war is the survival of the Jewish state and hence the survival of the Jewish people.”

Netanyahu, whose address to a joint session of Congress is expected to focus on Iran, also spoke of Lieberman’s leadership of United Against a Nuclear Iran, saying that the former senator “knew how dangerous our world would become if Iran were ever to develop and acquire nuclear weapons. He said ‘focus on the problem,’ which was Iran.”

”This was quintessentially Joe: Focused, clear-eyed, right to the point,” Netanyahu said.

PM @netanyahu speaks at a memorial event for the late Senator Joe Lieberman, @gsdeutch and @LahavHarkov report: https://t.co/vEgLJ3dkZe

"I valued his unflagging friendship in good times and in bad, he was unwavering and defending Israel and express his support literally up to… pic.twitter.com/N78tEKbDkx

— Jewish Insider (@J_Insider) July 24, 2024

Hundreds of people attended the memorial service, which took place four months after Lieberman’s death. His funeral in Stamford, Conn., in March also drew a large crowd. 

One section of the synagogue was symbolically reserved for the Israeli hostages held in Gaza, with posters of their names and faces on the seats. About a block away from the memorial, a handful of protesters gathered, chanting “Intifada revolution” and holding signs with messages like “1st stop Hague, 2nd stop hell.” But inside the synagogue, Democratic and Republican speakers — along with Lieberman’s family members — spoke of a big-hearted man who was willing to cross party lines to solve problems. They also were willing to take an occasional well-meaning jab.

“I learned today that his middle name was Isadore. His passing saved him a lot of grief,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of Lieberman’s closest friends in the Senate, to laughs from the audience. “The common bond — why are we all here? We loved Joe, right, and he loved us, and to be loved by Joe Lieberman is an experience you will never ever forget.” 

Former Vice President Al Gore, who chose Lieberman as his running mate in the 2000 presidential election, paid tribute to him as a man with a “remarkably faith-filled life.” Gore’s selection of Lieberman was the first time a Jewish American had ever appeared on a major party’s presidential ticket. 

Gore quoted from Lieberman’s writing about being raised an observant Jew and the value of “tikkun olam,” which Lieberman said “presumes the inherent but unfulfilled goodness of people and requires action for the benefit of the community… We as individuals and our society are constantly in the process of improving and becoming complete.” 

The former vice president talked about becoming Lieberman’s “Shabbos goy” when they were both senators and the Senate would go late on a Friday, “turning lights on and turning lights off for him.”

”I learned some Yiddish,” Gore said. “I was already familiar with the word mensch, but I didn’t know what it really meant until I met Joe Lieberman.” 

Former VP @algore speaks at a memorial event for the late Senator Joe Lieberman, @GSDeutch and @LahavHarkov report: https://t.co/vEgLJ3dSOM

"I learned a lot from Joe, including a few words of Yiddish and I was already familiar with the word mensch, but I did not know its full… pic.twitter.com/s2EY4qgQCk

— Jewish Insider (@J_Insider) July 24, 2024

Among those in attendance at the memorial were former Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Manchin (I-WV), Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY), U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew, pollster Frank Luntz, Yeshiva University President Rabbi Ari Berman and Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Executive Vice Chairman Malcolm Hoenlein. Netanyahu brought Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and other senior members of his delegation to Washington.