Susan Collins

Address at the Public Memorial for Joe Lieberman

delivered 24 July 2024, Washington Hebrew Congregation, Washington, D.C.

[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio]

Mr. Prime Minister, I'm used to people walking out when I get up to speak.

[PM Netanyahu, who also delivered remarks at the memorial for Senator Lieberman, had to leave early for a pressing engagement on Capitol Hill.]

Hadassah, family, friends, distinguished guests, colleagues,

It is such an honor to join you in celebrating the life of a truly great American: my dear friend, Joe Lieberman.

On the day that Joe died, I was speaking at a middle school in Western Maine. An eighth grader got up and asked me this question: Of all the senators that I had worked with over the years, who was the one that I accomplished the most with? After carefully noting that I had worked with many great senators, I answered the question: "Joe Lieberman." Later that very same day, shortly after I got home, I learned that Joe had died. I was stunned, for only hours before I had been touting his virtues to the students of Maine.

If you ever wonder if one person can make a difference, just look at the legacy of Joe Lieberman. He was a prolific legislator who authored so many significant laws. There was landmark legislation to reorganize and strengthen our intelligence community in the wake of the attacks of 9/11. His work to repeal the discriminatory "Don't ask, Don't tell" law was a profile in courage, The bill to reform FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] after the woeful response to Hurricane Katrina was another -- yet another -- of his lasting accomplishments. Working with Joe was so satisfying because his nonpartisan persistence repeatedly yielded results.

But Joe wasn't only a brilliant legislator. As Vice President Gore said, he was a mensch -- a person of integrity, honor, compassion, and warmth. I saw those qualities time and again: in his embrace of the families who lost a loved ones on 9/11; in his determination to do what was right regardless of the political consequences; and in his love for his family, his friends, and his country.

Joe also had a constant twinkle in his eye that reflected his marvelous sense of humor. How well I remember a lengthy conversation that Joe and I had, on a long journey to Afghanistan, about the relative burdens of Jewish guilt versus Catholic guilt. Joe finally won that argument. He said, "My people invented it; your people perfected it." Vintage Joe. We laughed so hard that we woke up John McCain, who was the leader of the [coterie?].

It's so difficult for me, as I know it is for so many of you, to accept that Joe is no longer with us. Just a week before he died, I was exchanging e-mails with him about Israel, and needless to say, we agreed with one another. Joe's legacy will continue to inspire those of us who have learned so much from him. The Prophet Isaiah said, "I have engraved you on the palms of my hands."¹ Joe is engraved in our hearts forever.

May his memory be a blessing.

Thank you.

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