Funeral service held for Joe Lieberman at his hometown synagogue

STAMFORD, Connecticut — Political dignitaries, family and friends gather to honor the late Joe Lieberman at a funeral service in Stamford, Connecticut, the hometown of the four-term US senator who grew up as the son of a liquor store owner and came within hundreds of votes of becoming the first Jewish vice president in 2000.

Lieberman died Wednesday in New York City from complications from a fall, according to his family. He was 82.

Services are being held at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford. For Lieberman, a self-described observant Jew who followed the rules of the Jewish Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, the congregation played a key role early on in his life.

He once recalled how the congregation’s former synagogue building was “a place that gave me the first sense of religion; a very special uplift,” according to a posting on the congregation’s website.

“I feel very lucky — my adherence to the Jewish tradition is really an asset,” he said. “Religious Catholics and Protestants find a bond of common value with my beliefs and stand. It is this that makes me so proud of being an American.”

Former US vice pesident Al Gore, who tapped Lieberman as his 2000 presidential running mate, is in attendance at the service morning along with top Connecticut Democrats including Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and Governor Ned Lamont, Lieberman’s one-time rival for the Senate seat. A second public memorial is expected to be held at a future date.