Ambassador Leiter Shares Hopeful Message from Son's Hospital Bed

Hours before the start of the Simchat Torah holiday, Israel's Ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, shared a personal message from his son Neriah's hospital bedside. Neriah Leiter is in serious condition after being critically injured in a vehicular attack at the Makabim checkpoint on Route 443. The ambassador stated that his son remains connected to life-support machines.

Leiter expressed immense gratitude for the support and prayers for his son, which he said have given him and his family "tremendous strength" and reinforced their belief in the power of prayer. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the family at the hospital to offer comfort and support.

Reflecting on the October 7th attack, which occurred on Simchat Torah three years prior, Leiter described the perpetrators' ideology as one that "believes that killing Jews is admirable" and denies Israel's right to exist. He linked this ideology to recent events, including the murder of Natanel Shokron before Yom Kippur, an attack on his second son shortly after Yom Kippur, and an attempted attack on a passenger plane bound for Tel Aviv. Leiter warned that "until we defeat this ideology, we are all like Neriah, dependent on life-support machines."

The ambassador also spoke about Israeli resilience and the meaning of his son's name, Neriah, which means "God's lamp." He explained the name's connection to the weekly Torah portion of Behaalotecha, which describes Aaron lighting the menorah. Leiter drew a parallel between Aaron's task of illuminating the Temple and Jerusalem as a continuous mission and the ongoing struggle against destructive ideologies, citing Mark Twain's observations on the Jewish people's historical endurance.

Leiter concluded his message by urging the public to continue praying for his son's recovery, expressing hope that Neriah might be able to celebrate the next Simchat Torah with his wife and children.