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Yechiel Leiter, the prospective Israeli ambassador to the U.S. under President-elect Donald Trump, experienced a profound personal loss when his son, Moshe, fell in battle in Gaza in November 2023. This tragic event was previously reported by Breitbart News during the funeral coverage.
At the funeral of his son, Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidyah Leiter, held at Mount Herzl military cemetery, Dr. Yechiel Leiter made an impassioned appeal to U.S. President Joe Biden. He urged the President not to pressure Israel into halting its operations against Hamas.
Moshe was one of four soldiers from the IDF’s 551st Brigade’s 697th Battalion who lost their lives in Gaza due to a booby-trapped tunnel. The funeral, attended by thousands, lasted for several hours.
Congratulations to Yechiel Leiter, who was just named the next Israeli ambassador to the United Stares. Watch the tribute Netanyahu gave before Congress to Leiter and his family, whose IDF son, Moshe, was killed in combat in Gaza. Story @all_israel_news pic.twitter.com/4E1zAlbjQn
— Joel C. Rosenberg (@JoelCRosenberg) November 8, 2024
Yechiel Leiter, a former chief of staff to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is a well-known figure in Jewish communities, particularly in the U.S. where he was born. During the eulogy, Leiter, who shares his birthplace of Scranton, Pennsylvania with President Biden, made a direct plea:
“There are rumors, now, that you’re putting pressure on Israel to hold off, to cease the offensive. If those rumors are true — I hope they’re not — but if they’re true, I respectfully ask of you, here, on my son’s grave, cease and desist! Stand back, Mr. President. Don’t pressure us. Let us do what we know how to do, what we must do: defeat evil.”
Leiter has been associated with several right-leaning organizations in Israel, including the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and the Kohelet Forum. A resident of the West Bank settlement Eli, he moved to Israel at 18 to serve in the IDF. An ordained rabbi with a doctorate in political philosophy, Leiter has authored multiple books.
'My son was killed because we proceeded gradually and with the intent of not causing unnecessary casualties. It would have been much easier not to send ground forces in'
Yechiel Leiter, father of Maj. (Res.) Moshe Yedidyah Leiter, one of 48 IDF soldiers killed in the #GAZA… pic.twitter.com/o5GBH2Z85N
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) November 15, 2023
Prime Minister Netanyahu had invited Leiter as his guest to a joint session of Congress in July, where he paid tribute to Moshe, who had fallen in combat in Gaza the previous year.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office has requested that the current Ambassador, Mike Herzog, remain in his position throughout the presidential transition, which concludes on January 20.
