Cabinet okays career official, settlement activist Yechiel Leiter as next US envoy
American-born academic was member of Kahanist Jewish Defense League in youth, served as chief of staff to Netanyahu when he was finance minister; son was killed fighting in Gaza
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
The cabinet on Sunday unanimously approved Yechiel Leiter, a career official active in the settlement movement, as Israel’s next ambassador to the United States.
He will assume his post on January 24, 2025, shortly after Donald Trump returns to the White House.
During the cabinet meeting, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he is sure the US-born Leiter will contribute significantly to “the strengthening of Israel’s most important relationship — with the United States,” according to Sa’ar’s office.
Sa’ar also praised current Ambassador Mike Herzog for his work in Washington.
Leiter’s son Maj. (res.) Moshe Leiter was killed fighting Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip on November 10, 2023, following the terror group’s October 7 attack against Israel.
Netanyahu told the story of the fallen soldier during his speech to the US Congress in July, noting the presence of Leiter in the audience.
Announcing the nomination earlier this month, Netanyahu said: “Yechiel Leiter is a highly talented diplomat, an eloquent speaker, and has a deep understanding of American culture and politics.”
Leiter was one of the first residents of the Admot Yishai neighborhood founded in 1984 in the West Bank city Hebron, and two years later he founded an organization to support settlement in the disputed city.
From 1989 to 1992 he served as chairman of the Committee of the Jewish Community of Hebron. He now lives in Alon Shvut, part of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc.
Leiter, who is an ordained rabbi and holds a PhD in political philosophy from the University of Haifa, has worked as deputy director general of the Education Ministry, chief of staff to Netanyahu during his term as finance minister some two decades ago, and acting chairman of the Ports Authority.
In 2008, he was a candidate in the Likud primaries and placed on the party’s slate, but did not make it to the Knesset.
Leiter serves as director general for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs think tank, and is on the faculty of the Ono Academic College in central Israel, teaching philosophy.
In a 1994 book, “A Peace Plan to Resist,” Leiter argued against the Oslo Accords, which envisioned an eventual independent Palestinian state. He also wrote a 2020 article advocating for Israel to annex the West Bank.
Ynet reported earlier this month that Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Ophir Falk, a senior Netanyahu adviser who has been heavily involved in talks to secure a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas, both declined Netanyahu’s offer of the role.
Trump, whom Netanyahu was thought to be rooting for in the US election, embraced a hawkish foreign policy against Iran during his first term as president, and took a relatively positive view of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Those close to the Republican president-elect have suggested he will employ a similar approach in his second term.
The Times of Israel reported in October, before the election, that Trump told Netanyahu that he wanted Israel to wrap up the war in Gaza by the time he would return to office.
A former US official said this includes the return of those held hostage by Hamas, and the families of seven American hostages have called on Trump’s transition to begin working for their release.
It is believed that 97 of 251 hostages abducted by terrorists on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
