'Israel will not forget you, friend'

Israel’s leaders mourn passing of Lindsey Graham, ‘one of its greatest friends’

GOP senator lauded as American patriot, defender of free world and US-Israel relationship; Netanyahu said to consider attending funeral

The late US Senator Lindsey Graham “understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday in a statement after the South Carolina lawmaker’s sudden passing the previous evening.

“He devoted his life to defending America, strengthening our alliance and standing up for the free world,” said Netanyahu in a statement released by his office.

“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends,” he continued. “America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend.”

The South Carolina Republican, a leading supporter of Israel on Capitol Hill, died Saturday evening after a “brief and sudden illness,” said his office in a statement.

Netanyahu was considering flying to the US for the funeral, according to a source in the Prime Minister’s Office. The prime minister has  already been working to coordinate a meeting with US President Donald Trump in the coming weeks.

According to NBC, emergency services responded to a call to Graham’s Washington, DC, home for a “cardiac arrest,” according to police scanner audio.

“Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” said his office.

President Isaac Herzog said in a statement that he was “shocked and heartbroken” upon hearing of Graham’s death, whom he called a “great American patriot, a great friend of Israel, and my dear friend.”

“Senator Graham was a beacon of moral clarity and a true leader of the US-Israel partnership,” said Herzog on X. “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.”

“The people of Israel mourn his loss, and I will miss my great friend very dearly.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the South Carolina senator “stood with Israel in its most difficult moments, worked tirelessly to strengthen the strategic alliance between Israel and the United States, and was an unwavering voice in support of Israel’s security and its right to defend itself.”

He noted that Graham flew to Israel repeatedly after the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion, “standing shoulder to shoulder with our people in an extraordinary demonstration of solidarity and unwavering friendship.”

“Lindsey was a man with a huge heart and rare personal charm,” said Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. “He was endowed with a clear vision of reality and true commitment to values. His support for Israel and its security was boundless.”

“The State of Israel has lost a great friend,” he wrote on X. “Israel will not forget you, friend.”

After bitterly criticizing Trump when both were candidates for the presidency in 2015, Graham has since become one of the US president’s most die-hard supporters.

Trump has warmed up to him considerably and Graham has used the relationship to aggressively lobby in favor of US military action in Iran.

Graham traveled to Israel regularly to meet with top Israeli officials. He also visited Saudi Arabia often, and pushed for normalization between the US allies.

The Iran hawk was initially highly critical of the emerging Iran deal this year and said in May that putting Iran in a strong position in the region would lead to a “nightmare for Israel.”

“If a deal is struck to end the Iranian conflict because it is believed that the Strait of Hormuz cannot be protected from Iranian terrorism and Iran still possesses the capability to destroy major Gulf oil infrastructure, then Iran will be perceived as being a dominate [sic] force requiring a diplomatic solution,” he posted on X.

Once it was signed, he was more open to giving Trump a chance to test whether diplomacy could curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

At the same time, Graham expressed his doubts that Trump’s peace plan for Gaza would succeed with a key target of getting Hamas to disarm voluntarily.

“My advice to the President [Trump] is until Hamas is dealt out of the game militarily and politically, the chance of success is pretty remote,” he told The Times of Israel in late 2025.

“These people are religious zealots,” he said. “They’re religious Nazis. I have no confidence, short of their demise, that they’re ever going to do anything other than what they promised to do. Did they stop wanting to destroy Israel? Did they change their stated goals? No.”

In the same interview, he also urged the US to join in on any potential attack on Hezbollah: “I would like to fly with Israel. I would like the United States to participate in military operations, in the aerial side, against Hezbollah, if that’s what it takes to knock them out.”

Graham was in Kyiv on Friday and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky said Sunday he was deeply saddened by US Senator Lindsey Graham’s death, describing him as a “determined leader” who visited Ukraine when it needed him most.

“He visited Ukraine ten times during the years of Russia’s full-scale invasion and was here with our people when it was most needed… America and the world have lost a determined leader,” Zelensky said in a post on Facebook.

AFP contributed to this report