Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu praised the late American Jewish political commentator and popular Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer during a coalition meeting Sunday, calling Krauthammer a “daring” defender of the Jewish state.
Last Wednesday, Krauthammer succumbed to intestinal cancer, leaving behind his wife, Robyn, and son Daniel. He was 68 years old.
Paralyzed for most of his life following a freak accident while diving into a pool during his first year as a medical school student, Krauthammer nevertheless completed his studies at Harvard Medical School, becoming a psychiatrist.
In the late 1970s, however, Krauthammer turned to politics, working for the Carter administration and later as a speech writer for Vice President and 1984 Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale.
During the 1980s, Krauthammer’s political identification shifted, moving towards the right. Krauthammer later became an editor for the Weekly Standard and a regular contributor for Fox News.
A long-time supporter of Israel, Krauthammer was noted for his opposition in the 1990s against the Oslo Accords, dubbing it the “greatest self-inflicted wound of any state in history.”
“Several days ago Charles Krauthammer passed away,” Netanyahu told ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting.
“Charles Krauthammer was among the greatest commentators and writers, and among the greatest supporters that State of Israel has ever had. He was a brilliant student of medicine, from Harvard University medical school. He jumped into the pool, which did not have enough water, and struck his neck on the bottom. He immediately understood what had happened to him and prayed that nobody should draw him out of the water. But they drew him out...and was confined to a wheel chair with a severe disability. He eventually became a speech writer for Walter Mondale and from there he went to the New Republic weekly, which was and still is a very important weekly for expressing political and cultural views in the US.
“I met him there in 1982 when I came to serve as an Israeli diplomat at the embassy in Washington. I met him and a very deep friendship sprang up between us. Eventually Charles became known as one of America's great writers. He won a Pulitzer Prize and many other prizes as well.
“He defended Israel in a way that is difficult to describe – methodically, with great creativity and with very great daring. He did not care what was written about him and what was said about him. He also did not toady. He simply wrote the truth, the deepest truth. During the Israeli Embassy in Washington's celebrations for Israel's 70th year, 70 people were chosen, American Jews, who had contributed more than others and more than anything to the State of Israel. Charles Krauthammer was one of them and rightly so.”
Weeks before his death, Krauthammer announced that he had received a terminal diagnosis, and had only weeks to live.
Following the announcement, Prime Minister Netanyahu sent Krauthammer a letter, expressing his sadness over the development.
"The news of your illness broke my heart," Netanyahu wrote in the letter. "I am overcome with grief. I am awed by your courage. For over half my lifetime, since I first met you in Washington in 1982, we have been like brothers. We didn't need to meet to understand each other. You understood everything."
On Sunday, Netanyahu revealed Krauthammer’s response to the letter.
“His son Daniel, read my letter to him and he managed to listen to it and respond before he lost consciousness. He had two words: Goodbye brother.”