Sen. Lindsey Graham, Republican Israel Champion, Dies at 71 After Sudden Illness

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Israel's most vocal defenders on Capitol Hill and a leading Republican foreign-policy hawk, died Saturday evening from a brief and sudden illness, his office announced Sunday morning. Graham was 71. Elected to the Senate in 2002 and re-nominated last month for a fifth term, he chaired the Judiciary and Budget committees and became a leading Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas critic who repeatedly pledged in Jerusalem to stand with Israel until his dying day. He met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Friday, hours before returning to South Carolina, after attending the NATO summit in Ankara the prior week. Israeli commentator Amit Segal called him the greatest friend of Israel on Capitol Hill.