Agudath Israel of America notes with sadness the passing of Joseph “Joe” Lieberman, former senator from Connecticut and vice-presidential nominee, at the age of 82.

Joe Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew himself, was a friend of Agudath Israel and the Orthodox Jewish community, participating in Agudath Israel events and championing the needs of the community.

Senator Lieberman, dubbed the “conscience of the Senate,” was a strong supporter of Israel, and worked to ensure its security both during and after his tenure as senator.

Senator Lieberman was also closely involved with Orthodox Jewish leaders, such as Rabbi Moshe Sherer, legendary president of Agudath Israel of America, and Rabbi Herman Neuberger, the venerable late president of Ner Israel Rabbinical College. The senator referred to them as “tremendous representatives of Torah Jewry” who became his “great friends and advisors.”

And Senator Lieberman was concerned with the Orthodox community’s representation in the secular world, saying that the rising population of Orthodox Jews within the larger Jewish community brought with it “a new power, but also a responsibility to represent the Jewish community to the non-Jewish community, to the government, and within the Jewish community itself, guided only by the words of Torah.”

“I regularly was asked by Jewish students if I knew ‘Senator Lieberman, the Sabbath observant Jew,’” said Rabbi Abba Cohen, vice president for government affairs and Washington director and counsel for Agudath Israel, who had a long-standing relationship with Senator Lieberman. “They wanted to know all about Joe. It was clear that he was a source of pride and inspiration to young people. He was an exemplar of Orthodox Judaism to the world. The senator and his Torah observance made an impression on people and intrigued them. People were influenced by, and attracted to, him and his values.”

Agudath Israel extends its deep sympathies and sincere condolences to the Lieberman family.

HaMakom yenachem osam b’soch she’ar aveilei Tzion vYerushalayim – may Hashem comfort them among the mourners of Tzion and Yerushalayim.