Former Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman joined Forbes Newsroom to discuss the heinous Hamas assault on Israel from air, land and sea on October 7th in what was the deadliest attack that nation has seen in decades.
The former senator, who spoke to Forbes from Jerusalem, offered praise for the Biden Administration’s condemnation of the attacks, as well as the widespread bipartisan support shown to Israel.
“I think the United States’ response has been excellent and extremely supportive,” Lieberman said.
Lieberman compared Saturday’s attacks to the acts of terror America faced on September 11, 2001, and said that now is the time to “pull together to support our allies – and the forces of democracy.”
While Lieberman had favorable marks for the response from the vast majority of Congressional lawmakers, who have offered total support to Israel and absolute condemnation of Hamas, he took issue with political outliers like progressive lawmaker Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). Tlaib has made waves for pointing the finger at Israel in her response to the attack, calling to “dismant[le] the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance.”
Lieberman referred to her statement as “offensive, and somewhat bigoted” and called for “the mainstream Democratic leadership” and other leaders on the left to condemn it.
On Iran, Lieberman was far from sanguine, stating that Iran was the key instigator and actor in the attack. “It’s time for us to get real about Iran. There’s no hope for peace with Iran.” He praised the Wall Street Journal report which claims that Iran helped plan the attack, and urged the U.S. – and the world more broadly – to take a harder line on Tehran. “What I’d like to see from the international community… [is] a focus on the source of the problem, which is Iran.”
Watch the full interview above.
Read the full article here