Washington, DC – When devastating Hurricane Helene hit the southeastern shores of the United States in 2024, the late Senator Lindsey Graham appeared on Fox News to discuss the aftermath of the natural disaster in South Carolina. For five minutes, he expressed anger and frustration at what he presented as failures by the administration of then-Democratic President Joe Biden in responding to the hurricane. Then, unprompted, he abruptly shifted the conversation from the woes of his home state to his concern about Israel amid its genocidal war on Gaza.
“I’ve been going all over South Carolina. Like most people, I haven’t slept much. But look what’s going on in Israel,” Graham said. “Our friends in Israel, surrounded by people that want to kill them, destroy them, a second Holocaust in the making, and Biden says, ‘Be proportional.’ What is the proportional response to people who want to kill you and your family? They’re running out of ammunition in Israel. We have to help our friends.”
The Republican senator, who died of a “brief and sudden illness” late on Saturday according to his office, throughout his decades-long career backed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, staunchly opposed Russia and China, called for unflinching and unlimited support for Israel, and was one of the most vocal cheerleaders of the war on Iran.
Michael Hanna, US programme director at the International Crisis Group think tank, said two elements of Graham’s career will define the late senator’s legacy: his advocacy for military interventions, and his staunch support for President Donald Trump. “He has cultivated over many, many years a reputation for hawkishness and pushing for military solutions to US foreign policy problems,” Hanna said.
Graham was known for unconditional support for Israel. After a 2021 Israeli assault on Gaza that killed hundreds of Palestinians, he headed to Israel and posed next to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a sign that said, “More for Israel”. He then secured an additional $1bn in US military aid for the country. On Sunday, Netanyahu eulogised Graham, saying that the Republican legislator often sought more US support for Israel than his government requested or needed.
At times, Graham’s pro-Israel advocacy turned into outright resentment and dehumanisation of Palestinians. On several occasions, he compared the Palestinian people to Nazis and suggested that dropping a nuclear bomb on them would be justified. “Why is it OK for America to drop two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end their existential threat war? Why was it OK for us to do that? I thought it was OK,” he told NBC News in 2024. “So, Israel, do whatever you have to do to survive as a Jewish state.”
After his death, President Trump called on South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster to appoint Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to fill his seat until the end of his term, which was done. Analysts say Graham’s death underscores a generational divide over foreign policy in the United States, as younger Republicans and Democrats are less likely to support military interventions and Israel.
Source: www.aljazeera.com