Double Tragedy for the Ambassador's Family: Son Fighting for His Life in Car-Ramming Attack, Three Years After Brother Fell in Gaza

Almost three years after Major (res.) Moshe Yedidya Leiter—the son of the Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter—fell at the beginning of the Swords of Iron war, another son of the Ambassador, Neria Leiter, was critically wounded in a terror attack at a checkpoint on Route 443. Neria, a reservist soldier, was part of a police unit team when a terrorist accelerated his vehicle and struck him while he was at the checkpoint. The terrorist was neutralized by IDF forces at the scene; Neria was evacuated to Shaare Zedek Hospital, where doctors are fighting for his life.

The cursed terror knows no bounds, and this time it strikes the heart of a family that has already given its most precious sacrifice for the homeland. While the Ambassador and his wife attempt to heal the fractures from the terrible loss of their son who fell in the battles in Gaza three years ago, the bloody Israeli reality has struck them again with unimaginable force.

The blood has not dried, and the pain only deepens

The son, who is currently fighting for his life in the hospital after being hit in a cruel car-ramming attack, is a painful reminder of the heavy price we pay for our very existence here. Is this our fate? To live by the sword, to bury our children, and to continue smiling for the cameras on national missions? This question must echo in every home in Israel.

The security failure that cries out to the heavens

How is it possible that, time and again, despicable terrorists succeed in carrying out attacks in our very core? Where is the deterrence? Where is the iron fist we were promised? It is time to stop the weak condemnations and move to actions that will make anyone who raises a hand against a Jew regret the moment they were born. The blood of this son, like the blood of his brother, cries out from the ground.

We cannot afford to grow accustomed to terror. Every such attack is a failure of the system, and every wounded person is an entire world that has been shattered. This family, which has suffered a double blow, is a reflection of all of us. If we do not wake up now, who will guarantee us that this will not happen in the next home?

The Israeli public demands answers. We do not want more investigative committees; we want security. We want to know that our children can walk in the street without fearing a terrorist who will run them over to death. It is time to restore deterrence, at any cost and by any means.

Our hearts go out to these heroic parents, who are currently praying for a miracle. But miracles are not enough in the Middle East. We need strength, we need determination, and we need to stop apologizing for the fact that we are here to stay. Anyone who wants to kill us must know that their end will be bitter and difficult.

Will we continue to stand by and count the victims, or will we finally decide to fight back with all our might without being intimidated by what the world says, which does not support us anyway? The answer must come today, before the next tragedy knocks on all our doors.