The world of politics just got a fresh yet familiar face. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s top guy, has put his cards on the table, selecting a no-nonsense, hardcore fan of the Gaza war and a cheerleader for West Bank settlements as the new ambassador to the US. Now, who is this tough cookie? Meet Yechiel Leiter, an American-bred guy from Scranton who swapped life stateside for the Israeli hustle some 40-odd years ago.
Announced Friday, Leiter’s switch to ambassador-mode comes with some hefty, emotional baggage. Last year, in the chaos of northern Gaza, his son, a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces, paid the ultimate price. So, this post ain’t just about diplomatic chit-chat—it’s personal.
Netanyahu’s upbeat about this pick, calling Leiter a champ of a diplomat with a knack for wrapping his head around all things American. The PM’s banking on Leiter to fly the Israeli flag high and proud in Washington after Michael Herzog wraps up his gig come January.
Leiter’s playbook runs deep. Back in the day, he was Netanyahu’s go-to guy when Bibi was all about finance, and he also had a stint with the late Ariel Sharon during Sharon’s Knesset days. This guy knows his stuff. With the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and the Kohelet Forum jazz, it’s clear he’s left a serious mark.
But wait, there’s more. Once upon a time, Leiter was in the Jewish Defense League’s mix—a whole different ball game led by Rabbi Meir Kahane. This League was seen as a bad apple in the US, labeled a terrorist gang until it faded away.
Home for Leiter is a settlement north of Ramallah, where he’s been hustling for the One Israel Fund to bankroll settler causes. Israel Ganz, a big shot in the settler circle, is clapping all the way, tipping his hat to Leiter’s English-language pitch for the West Bank, or, as they like to call it, Judea and Samaria.
Leiter’s been beating the drums for Trump’s Abraham Accords, the big moves reshaping Israel’s ties with a few major Arab players, putting a dent in the Palestinian cause. Talk shop with him, and he’s all about Israel’s total grip on the West Bank—a banner that’s caused a fair stir about a potential grab of West Bank land by Netanyahu’s lot.
Trump’s first rodeo saw the US flip the script, ditching the old stance that West Bank settlements were a no-go zone legally. Many settler heads are now saying, with Trump poised for a round two, it’s high time Israel makes it official and takes the West Bank.
There’s a tender spot here too. Leiter’s son, Moshe, breathed his last in northern Gaza. In a heart-string-pulling moment at Moshe’s funeral in Jerusalem, Yechiel had a few words for Joe Biden over whispers of the US twisting Israel’s arm to cool off its military moves.
“True or not, if it’s legit, Mr. President, I’m asking you, from the heart, standing here by my son’s grave—ease off,” he said. “Back up, Mr. President: don’t press us too hard. We know what we gotta do, and do it we will, to take down the bad guys. It’s a showdown of light battling darkness, of facts taking on falsehood, of sanity standing firm against wild barbarism.”
“From one straight-talker from Scranton to another—we’re gonna clinch this one, with or without your nod,” he added. “We got this in the bag, ’cause we’re a people made of survival stuff, and this scrap is all about making it.”
Leiter’s entry as ambassador isn’t just headline news—it’s a peek into a deeper, more personal play in the ever-twisty game of geopolitics.
