Joe Lieberman, 1st Jewish candidate for US Vice President

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                   

Then US senator Joe Lieberman speaks during a press conference about their report on the Benghazi consulate attack, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on December 31, 2012. DREW ANGERER / AFP:  

In August 2000, Vice President Al Gore announced that he had selected Lieberman as his vice presidential running mate. Lieberman became the first practicing Jew to run for the nation's second-highest office. Lieberman was selected from a group of potential running mates that reportedly included Senators John Kerry and John Edwards, the team that would form the Democratic presidential ticket four years later.

The former US senator of Connecticut, known for his close vice presidential race on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000 and nearly being Republican John McCain's running mate in 2008, has passed away, his family announced, at age 82 on March 27th "due to complications from a fall," his family said in a statement carried by US media..

Lieberman was the first Jew to be chosen on one of the country's major party tickets. He was famous for his independent streak in sharply divided Washington politics. He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 but was then considered seriously by Republican candidate John McCain as a running mate when he mounted his own failed bid for the presidency in the 2008 race won by Barack Obama.

A national security hawk, Lieberman broke with many in his Democratic party over support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, while also ardently supporting liberal social views – including on gun rights and abortion. In 2006, Lieberman lost the Democratic primary to get reelected to the Senate. However, he still won the contest that year, keeping his seat, by running as an independent.

In 2023, Lieberman returned to high-level politics as one of the most visible faces of No Labels, which says it wants to give Americans a feasible third choice in presidential elections. 

President Joe Biden's supporters have repeatedly warned that the organization could eat into the Democrat's base, thereby risking handing what is expected to be a tight election this November to Donald Trump.

Lieberman was born on February 24, 1942, in Stamford, Connecticut, the son of Henry, who ran a liquor store, and Marcia (née Manger) Lieberman. His family is Jewish; his paternal grandparents emigrated from Congress Poland and his maternal grandparents were from Austria-Hungary.

Joe Lieberman served as one of the greatest exemplars of Modern Judaism. Observant Jew, Senator, almost Vice President, approachable, pious, knowledgeable, down to earth, principled, Zionist, bipartisan, centrist, a mensch. These are just some of the words being used in numerous tributes to a great American.  Joe Lieberman personified both the “average Joe” and the Ultimate Modern Orthodox Jew.

Resource:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Lieberman

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/average-joe-and-ultimate-modern-orthodox-jew/

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/03/28/joe-lieberman-first-jewish-candidate-to-seek-us-vice-presidency-has-died-at-82_6661068_4.html