United States – On Friday, following the funeral service, Political dignitaries, family, and friends will gather in Stamford, Connecticut, Joe Lieberman’s hometown. He was known as a four-term U.S. senator whose father owned a liquor store. Eventually, in 2000, he became the first Jewish vice president, as reported by The Associated Press.
Remembering a Political Stalwart
On Wednesday, Lieberman passed away in New York City because of complications from falling, which his family confirmed. He was 82.
Service at Congregation Agudath Sholom
The service will be at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford. For Lieberman, an orthodox Jew using the rules of Shabbat from Friday’s sunset to Saturday’s sunset, the congregation contributed basically to his life from the start.
He once recalled how the congregation’s former synagogue building was “a place that gave me the first sense of religion; a very special uplift,” according to a posting on the congregation’s website.
“I feel very lucky — my adherence to the Jewish tradition is really an asset,” he said. “Religious Catholics and Protestants find a bond of common value with my beliefs and stand. It is this that makes me so proud of being an American.”
Al Gore, a former vice president who had Lawrence as the running mate for his 1980 presidential campaign, was expected to attend the service Friday. Connecticut’s top Democrats, Sens. Chris Dodd, Richard Blumenthal, and Chris Murphy, as well as the New-state governor Ned Lamont, who used to compete with Lawrence for the Senate position, could attend the ceremony. A second public memorial will be held in the future.
Legacy of Independence and Principles
Lieberman, who served as state Senate leader and attorney general, had picked up his reputation for a hard-nosed, independent character. A Democrat-leaning to the middle, who later won the race for an independent candidate in order to serve a fourth term in the Senate, came very close to being Republican John McCain’s vice-president nominee in 2008. On the flip side, the right-wing caucus rejected the idea of tapping Lieberman, given his support for gay rights, environmental causes as well as civil rights, while being hawkish on military and national security matters.
President Joe Biden on Thursday called Lieberman a friend, someone who was “principled, steadfast and unafraid to stand up for what he thought was right.”
“Joe believed in a shared purpose of serving something bigger than ourselves,” Biden, who served 20 years in the Senate with Lieberman, said in his statement. “He lived the values of his faith as he worked to repair the wounds of the world.”
Biden’s Tribute and 2000 Election Legacy
However, Lieberman only came that close to being elected vice president of the United States during the contentious presidential race of 2000. The race was decided by a mere 537-vote margin in favor of Gore over Bush, who finally won after a drawn-out recount, legal challenges, and a Supreme Court decision holding that Bush had won the case. He was the first of the Jewish candidates to be on a major party’s president’s ticket.
In the last ten years, Lieberman has led the bipartisan third-party group called No Labels, which is going to offer yet-to-be-named candidates this year for presidency and vice-presidency. Among some Democrat aligned group, there is an apprehension that such move will serve the deed of the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump to win the White House, as reported by The Associated Press.
Lieberman and his wife, Hadas, have four children.