NOON IN ISRAEL
Israel Loses Its Greatest Friend on Capitol Hill
Amit Segal
July 12, 2026

It’s Sunday, July 12, and this morning the office of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham announced that he passed away Saturday evening after a sudden and brief illness—two days after turning 71. He had returned from Kyiv on Friday, where he met Volodymyr Zelensky, and was booked on Meet the Press for this very morning. Israel has lost its greatest friend on Capitol Hill. That isn’t an exaggeration; it’s the consensus of the Israeli opposition and coalition, who rose in unison this morning to eulogize the beloved senator. Born and raised in his beloved South Carolina, Graham grew up living in a cramped room behind his parents’ combined pool hall, bar and liquor store. Later becoming a lawyer and enlisting in the U.S. military, he entered Congress in 1995, becoming the first Republican to represent South Carolina’s 3rd District since Reconstruction. In 2003, he moved up to the Senate, where he and John McCain became a trio with Joe Lieberman—dubbed the “Three Amigos” by Gen. David Petraeus on one of their endless trips to Iraq and Afghanistan. Hawks, travelers and crossers of aisles for wars worth fighting. Especially Israel’s. READ

NEW YORK POST Lindsey Graham had among the lowest wealth in Congress despite a lifetime at the center of power The late Sen. Lindsey Graham ranked among the bottom half of Congress’ big earners despite more than three decades in office and a top role leading the GOP. Graham, 71, died Saturday night with a net worth of nearly $1.5 million, leaving the senator, who had a modest upbringing in South Carolina, ranked at 294th in wealth among the 535 voting members of Congress, according to data from the Quiver Quantitative tracker. As a point of contrast, Graham’s personal wealth is a drop compared to Congress’ wealthiest member, fellow Sen. James Justice (R-WV), whose net worth is estimated at more than $664 million, according to Quiver Quantitative.