Shame kept me from saying anything earlier in memoriam to Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was a truer friend to Jews & Israel than we may ever see in Congress again.
I was a hard-left liberal for most of my life. I used to despise Lindsey Graham. I thought he was a hateful bigot. I mocked him and posted ugly rumors about him on social media.
The Democratic party's abandonment of women's rights and embrace of antisemitism has since turned me into a slightly-left-of-center moderate. When I saw friends posting gleeful comments about Graham's death on Facebook today, I was disgusted, but I also knew that if he had died 6 or 7 years ago, I probably would have done the same.
The truth is, he was never a bigot, but I was. I hated any politician on the right because Hollywood and the media told me they were all racists, homophobes and misogynists. I didn't examine their beliefs, or mine, beyond that.
It took me too long to grow up. I didn't love Lindsay Graham's decision to change course and back Trump, but he was nevertheless a man of integrity who stood by Jews even when it wasn't popular to do so, and who fought for the US' alliance with Israel even when it cost him. May his memory be a blessing.