Even if Lindsey Graham was not poisoned, and at present no authoritative source has even suggested such a possibility, it is clear that his death is very welcome news for the world's bad guys. It was no coincidence that the Iranians celebrated his sudden passing.
Graham devoted his entire public life to fighting the forces that spread evil and violence throughout the world. At its core, that was what drove him to wage a determined, intelligent and extraordinarily persistent campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and the dictatorial regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
There are, of course, many senators who support Israel, believe in the justice of America's cause and are furious with Iran and Russia. But of all of them, only Graham turned that burning conviction into a lifelong mission, even though there was little political reward in it for him.
That is why he became one of the most influential senators and one of US President Donald Trump's closest allies. It is also why his political opponents listened to him with close attention and respect. They knew he was not merely playing politics, but was genuinely seeking to change reality and make the world a better place.
One of the most remarkable things about conversations with Graham, both in his Washington office and during his frequent visits to Israel, was his razor-sharp understanding of the region. Here in Israel, we tend to assume that the entire world understands what is happening around us. The truth is the opposite. In most cases, even Israel's supporters, and certainly its opponents, are unable to grasp from the other side of the world the nuances of events in Israel and the surrounding region. Lindsey could, and he did so with remarkable intellectual acuity.
That insight and dedication made him the fiercest hawk against Iran in the US Senate, and the eagle whose wings offered the Jewish state broader protection than those of any of his colleagues. Over the past three years, as so many supporters of Israel in America distanced themselves from us under pressure from extremists on both the Right and the Left, Lindsey stood firm like a fortified wall.
On the Senate floor, in the American media, on social media and during his travels around the world, he spoke in our defense. The deterioration of Israel's image in recent years saddened him.
In his final interview with Israel Hayom, less than a year ago, he did not hesitate to confront the anti-Israel currents within his own party. Rather than remain silent in the face of hostile voices on the Right, Graham said, "There is a movement in the Republican Party that we have not seen before, one that is openly hostile to Israel. There are people in the Republican Party who argue that America's relationship with Israel weakens us and that Israel creates more problems for us than it solves. They are wrong.
"We have no better friend in the world than Israel. You are an island of democracy surrounded by many problems. We could not replace what you do in the region even if we had all the money in the world. The work carried out by Mossad, the Shin Bet security agency and the Israel Defense Forces together with our intelligence community and military makes us safer."
Where are the other people who will speak that way?
The only time he ever voiced even implicit criticism of us was when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would end its reliance on US aid. Graham regarded the move as a step toward greater distance between Washington and Jerusalem, and it angered him.
That does not mean he agreed with everything Israel did. Despite his close relationship with Netanyahu, Graham privately believed that the prime minister's policies toward the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip were mistaken. Even after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, Graham remained convinced that Israel should work toward the establishment of a Palestinian state.
But as a responsible and intelligent politician, he understood that publicly airing the disagreement would harm Israel, America and the relationship between them. He therefore chose to express those views away from the microphones.
Graham's sudden death left me, and everyone who knew him, in a state of complete shock. It is no exaggeration to say that the world is a worse place without him.
