Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has appointed Yechiel Leiter, a US-born academic and longtime ally, as Israel’s next ambassador to the United States. Leiter previously served as Netanyahu’s chief of staff during his tenure as finance minister under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Leiter’s appointment comes just one year after he suffered a personal tragedy: the loss of his son, Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidyah Leiter, 39, who was killed in combat in the northern Gaza Strip on November 10. A father of six, he had been training to become a doctor, and was involved in a program to train Charedim in computer science, preparing them to serve in the IDF’s prestigious Unit 8200, which is dedicated to intelligence.

In an interview with Yisrael Hayom, Leiter shared details of a recent conversation with Netanyahu. Following his son’s death, the prime minister reached out to console him. “When the prime minister called me this evening to console me, I told him only one thing: ‘Bibi, my son’s blood was not shed in vain. Finish this job. Don’t let any pressure in the world stop you. Because the only consolation of this loss is banishing evil,’” Leiter recounted.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)