Netanyahu decided: Dr. Yechiel Leiter - Israeli Ambassador to the US

November 8, 2024   

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided today (Friday) to appoint Dr. Yechiel Leiter as Israel's new ambassador to the United States. This was first reported by Moti Castel of Channel 14. Leiter, 65, was Netanyahu's chief of staff in 2004, when he served as finance minister. He is a father of eight, a resident of Alon Shvut. Exactly one year ago. He lost his son, Major (res.) Moshe Yedidia Leiter, who served as a company commander in the Shaldag unit and fell in battle in the northern Gaza Strip. He accompanied Prime Minister Netanyahu in his speech to Congress this summer. The Prime Minister even assured him, in consoling the mourners, at his request, that he had 'vowed' to complete the task against Hamas - until complete victory. According to Wikipedia, the new ambassador was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a religious Zionist home and was influenced by Menachem Begin's book 'The Uprising', which was a spur to his immigration to Israel. and for his involvement in the Likud. Leiter immigrated to Israel in 1978 and joined the Hesder Yeshiva in Kiryat Arba, where he studied until 1984 - and was ordained as a rabbi. During this period, he enlisted in the IDF as a combat medic in the artillery and participated in the Galilee Peace War. In 1984, he was among the first settlers in the Admot Yishai neighborhood in Hebron with his family. In 1986, he founded the Hebron Foundation, and from 1989 to 1992, he served as chairman of the Jewish settlement committee in Hebron. In 1992, he moved with his family to Ali. In the same year, he founded the Yesha Council's Overseas Desk and headed it from 1992 to 1996, alongside Minister of National Infrastructures Ariel Sharon. In subsequent years, he served as an advisor to Limor Livnat and founded the One Israel Fund. From 1996 to 2001, he pursued academic studies and completed a bachelor's degree in law and political science. During that time, he worked as an independent consultant for companies, organizations, and non-profit organizations. [Gallery]

Netanyahu comforting mourners. Photo: Haim Tzach, PM

In 2000, he was one of the founders of the ONE JERUSALEM organization, which led the struggle against the division of Jerusalem, which Prime Minister Ehud Barak attempted to promote at the Camp David Conference. In 2001, he was appointed Chief of Staff to Education Minister Limor Livnat. In 2002, he won a tender to head the Foreign Relations Department of the Ministry of Education, and in 2003, he won a tender for the position of Deputy Director General of the ministry, where he served until 2004. During this period, he received a master's degree in international relations. In 2004, he was appointed Chief of Staff to Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a position he held until the end of 2005. In 2006, he joined the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs as a senior policy researcher, established the department and the website in Hebrew. In 2008, he ran in the early elections for the Likud list for the 18th Knesset and was elected in 42nd place. Today, he is a philosophy lecturer, a research fellow at the Shalem Center, and serves as a strategic advisor to several organizations, including the Ancient Shiloh Project. He has written several books, hundreds of articles, and maintains a biweekly blog on current affairs. He is a weekly columnist for Israel Hayom.