Israeli Ambassador to US Speaks from Hospital as Son Fights for Life

Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Erdan, delivered a statement from Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, where his son, Neria, is hospitalized in very serious condition following a car-ramming attack at the Blim checkpoint on Route 443. Erdan expressed gratitude to the medical team, stating, "We feel we are in the best hands. We understood it was a very difficult night. When I boarded the plane yesterday from New York, there was a fear I would land here this morning without hope. The doctors managed to stabilize his condition, but Neria's life is still in danger."

Erdan drew a parallel to the loss of his elder son, Major Moshe Yedidya Erdan, who was killed in Gaza three years prior. "This experience is different from the night I received the knock on the door three years ago, when my eldest son fighting in Gaza fell in the line of duty. He died immediately, there was no possibility to bring him to the hospital and to bring top Israeli doctors to save his life. There was also no opportunity for us to gather around his bed, say Psalms, and rally the people of Israel to pray for his recovery," he said.

He added that "millions of people, Jews and non-Jews," were praying for Neria, expressing hope for his recovery. Erdan also addressed the situation in Judea and Samaria, stating, "The violence there is by Palestinians harming Jews, with the aim of uprooting Jews from this land. If there are deviations from the other side, they are deviations, but the war that exists here is a war over the right of Jews to live in this land." He criticized leaders who deny Palestinian violence against Jews, asserting that the goal is to expel Israelis from the land, a conflict that predates October 7th.

Erdan highlighted the dedication of his son's generation, noting that Neria continued to serve in reserve duty even after losing his brother, and has completed hundreds of days of reserve duty since October 7th. He concluded by appealing to the Israeli public, "We need a miracle. Your prayers can help."

Neria Erdan underwent life-saving procedures and a complex brain surgery. Initial police findings indicate the attacker, identified as Mahmoud Muhammad Mahmoud Suleiman, 29, from Beit Ur al-Tahta near Ramallah, drove at high speed towards a police vehicle, hitting Neria. Reserve soldiers from the Yonatan Brigade neutralized the attacker. U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, shared Erdan's post, expressing prayers for the family who had previously lost a son in Gaza.