# Yechiel Leiter

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Israeli historian and analyst and Israeli ambassador to the US

Yechiel Leiter יחיאל לייטר‎ Leiter in 2023 Israeli Ambassador to the United States Incumbent Assumed office January 27, 2025 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Preceded by Michael Herzog Personal details Born (1959-10-01) October 1, 1959 (age 66) Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. Citizenship United States • Israel Party Likud Children 8 Alma mater University of Haifa

**Yechiel "Michael" Leiter** ([Hebrew](/source/Hebrew_language): יחיאל לייטר; born October 1, 1959) is an American-born Israeli historian of philosophy, [public policy analyst](/source/Public_policy_analyst), [rabbi](/source/Rabbi) and [settlement](/source/Israeli_settlements) activist.[1] He is a resident scholar at the [Herzl Institute](/source/Herzl_Museum) in [Jerusalem](/source/Jerusalem).[2] On January 27, 2025, he assumed the position of [Israeli ambassador to the United States](/source/List_of_ambassadors_of_Israel_to_the_United_States).[3] He previously served as [chief of staff](/source/Chief_of_staff) to [Benjamin Netanyahu](/source/Benjamin_Netanyahu) at the Israeli [Ministry of Finance](/source/Ministry_of_Finance) and as political assistant[*[vague](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Vagueness)*] to [Ariel Sharon](/source/Ariel_Sharon) in the [Israeli parliament](/source/Israeli_parliament). An ordained [rabbi](/source/Rabbi), Leiter has written three books and numerous essays on the [politics of the Middle East](/source/Middle_Eastern_politics).[4] He is affiliated with the [Kohelet Policy Forum](/source/Kohelet_Policy_Forum).[5][6] [7]

## Early life and education

Yechiel Leiter was born on 1 October 1959 in [Scranton, Pennsylvania](/source/Scranton%2C_Pennsylvania).[8] He studied two years at [Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim](/source/Yeshivas_Chofetz_Chaim) in [Queens](/source/Queens), [New York](/source/New_York_(state)).[6][9][10] he made *[aliyah](/source/Aliyah)* to Israel in 1978 at the age of eighteen, where he studied at [Yeshivat Hesder](/source/Hesder) in [Kiryat Arba](/source/Kiryat_Arba) in advance of his military service.[11] He served as a [combat medic](/source/Combat_medic) in the [Israel Defense Forces](/source/Israel_Defense_Forces) and participated in the [1982 Lebanon War](/source/1982_Lebanon_War).[12] According to [+972 Magazine](/source/%2B972_Magazine), he afterwards joined the ultranationalist [Kach](/source/Kach) party.[13] He served as chairman of the Committee of the Jewish Community of [Hebron](/source/Hebron) from 1989 to 1992, and later lived in the [settlement](/source/Israeli_settlement) of [Alon Shvut](/source/Alon_Shvut).[14]

Leiter holds an undergraduate degree in [law](/source/Legal_studies), a Bachelor of Arts in [political science](/source/Political_science), a Master of Arts in [international relations](/source/International_relations), and a PhD in [political philosophy](/source/Political_philosophy) from the [University of Haifa](/source/University_of_Haifa).[15] His doctoral thesis focuses on the influence of the [Hebrew Bible](/source/Hebrew_Bible) on [John Locke](/source/John_Locke)'s theory of consensual government.[16] He received *[semikhah](/source/Semikhah)* as a [rabbi](/source/Rabbi) in 1984.[17]

## Career

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Leiter served as a [political advisor](/source/Political_advisor) to Knesset member [Ariel Sharon](/source/Ariel_Sharon) and in multiple senior government positions: first as deputy director general of the Israeli [Ministry of Education](/source/Ministry_of_Education),[18] where he helped plan a major overhaul of the educational system, and then as chief of staff to [Benjamin Netanyahu](/source/Benjamin_Netanyahu) in the Ministry of Finance, where he took an active role in economic reforms.[*[clarification needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*]

Leiter subsequently became a senior [policy analyst](/source/Policy_analyst)[4] at the [Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs](/source/Jerusalem_Center_for_Public_Affairs), where he directed and edited a [geopolitical](/source/Geopolitical) blog. In that capacity, he was a frequent guest on Israeli [news programs](/source/News_program) and a contributor to such Israeli media outlets such as [YNet](/source/YNet), *[Maariv](/source/Maariv_(newspaper))*-[NRG](/source/NRG360), and *[Yisrael Hayom](/source/Yisrael_Hayom)*.

In 2008, Leiter ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for election to the Knesset in the [Likud Party](/source/Likud_Party)'s primaries.[19]

He has served as the chief executive officer of [3H Global](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=3H_Global&action=edit&redlink=1),[20] an international consultancy group specializing in aiding governments to formulate and implement policy.

In 2010, Leiter was a candidate for the position of Chairman of [Israel Broadcasting Authority](/source/Israel_Broadcasting_Authority).[21]

He served as the advisor and chief strategist of [Horacio Cartes](/source/Horacio_Cartes), President of [Paraguay](/source/Paraguay).[22] In 2015, Leiter founded Versta.[23] Between 2015-2023, he was the director of The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, initiated the Red Sea dialogue with Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was a researcher in the Shilo Forum, and led initiatives to combat BDS.[24] He was also the strategic advisor for the Presidential race in [Liberia](/source/Liberia) which resulted in the candidate's victory.[25]

In 2011, he was elected chairman of [Israel Ports Authority](/source/Israel_Ports_Authority), where he was responsible for the planning of Israel's [seaport](/source/Seaport) operations and the building of two new [deep-water ports](/source/Deep-water_port) in [Ashdod](/source/Ashdod) and [Haifa](/source/Haifa).[26]

Leiter taught political philosophy in the law faculty at the [Ono Academic College](/source/Ono_Academic_College) in [Kiryat Ono](/source/Kiryat_Ono). He is strategic advisor to the Foundation for the Archaeological Exploration, Restoration and Expansion of Ancient [Shiloh](/source/Shiloh_(biblical_city)).

Leiter has served as a member of the board of governors of the [University of Judea and Samaria](/source/Ariel_University) in [Ariel](/source/Ariel_(Israeli_settlement)) and as a director on the National Committee for the Perpetuation of the Memory of [Theodor Herzl](/source/Theodor_Herzl). He serves on the board of directors of The Israel Experience, a subsidiary of the [Jewish Agency for Israel](/source/Jewish_Agency_for_Israel), which manages the "[Taglit-Birthright](/source/Taglit-Birthright)" program in Israel.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Leiter is a senior fellow at the [Kohelet Policy Forum](/source/Kohelet_Policy_Forum).[27]

### 20th Ambassador of Israel to the United States

In January 2025, Leiter became the 20th [Israeli ambassador to the United States](/source/List_of_ambassadors_of_Israel_to_the_United_States), assuming the position following the departure of [Michael Herzog](/source/Michael_Herzog_(ambassador)) from that role.[3]

After the [Capital Jewish Museum shooting](/source/2025_Capital_Jewish_Museum_shooting) in May 2025, in which two Israeli Embassy staffers were shot dead by a perpetrator who shouted "Free, free, Palestine" after being detained in police custody, Leiter described the murders as the eighth front in Israel's war, what he called "The war to demonize, delegitimize and to eradicate the right of the state of Israel to exist".[28]

## Personal life

He moved in 1992 to [Eli](/source/Eli_(Israeli_settlement)), a settlement in [the West Bank](/source/The_West_Bank), with his wife and their eight children.[11] In recent years he has lived in [Alon Shevut](/source/Alon_Shvut). His son, Major (Res.) Moshe Yedidia Leiter, a medical student, served as a [platoon](/source/Platoon) commander in the [Shaldag Unit](/source/Shaldag_Unit) and was killed in the northern [Gaza Strip](/source/Gaza_Strip) in 2023 in the [Gaza war](/source/Gaza_war).[29][30]

Leiter has authored three books and dozens of articles on [Zionism](/source/Zionism) and [Israeli politics](/source/Israeli_politics) and has lectured extensively to audiences throughout the United States, Canada, England, Australia, South Africa, and South America.

## Bibliography

- *Aloh Naaleh* - 'The Aliyah Imperative' (1988), in Hebrew[31]

- *A Peace to Resist: Why the Rabin-Arafat Deal Must Be Stopped, and How It Can Be Done* (1993)[32]

- *Crisis in Israel* (1994)[33]

- *Israel at the cross-roads: The view from the hills of Judea and Samaria* (1999)[34]

- *Between Despair and Hope: Public Perceptions of Educational Reform* (2005)

- *Political Views from Above* (2008), in Hebrew

- *The Political Hebraism of John Locke: A New-Old Reading of the Two Treatises of Government* (2008)[35]

- *John Locke's Political Philosophy and the Hebrew Bible*, 2018, [Cambridge University Press](/source/Cambridge_University_Press)[36]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Netanyahu taps former official, settlement activist Yechiel Leiter as next US ambassador | The Times of Israel"](https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-taps-former-official-settlement-activist-yechiel-leiter-as-next-us-ambassador/amp/). *www.timesofisrael.com*. Retrieved 17 June 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Yechiel Leiter](http://www.herzlinstitute.org), herzlinstitute.org

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-TOI_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-TOI_3-1) Magid, Jacob (27 January 2025). ["Yechiel Leiter takes up post as new ambassador to US"](https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/yechiel-leiter-takes-up-post-as-new-ambassador-to-us/). [The Times of Israel](/source/The_Times_of_Israel).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-jcpa_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-jcpa_4-1) [Yechiel Leiter](http://jcpa.org/researcher/yechiel-leiter/), Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Far_5-0)** Amir Tibon; Ben Samuels (8 November 2024). ["Netanyahu Appoints Yechiel Leiter as Israel's Ambassador to U.S. Hardline Settler, Ex-member of Far-right Kahanist Group"](https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-11-08/ty-article/.premium/netanyahu-picks-yechiel-leiter-as-ambassador-to-u-s-settler-ex-member-of-kahanist-group/00000193-0c1a-d3a2-a3d7-4f5b295d0000). *[Haaretz](/source/Haaretz)*. Retrieved 8 November 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-mishpacha_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-mishpacha_6-1) ["Ready Willing and Able"](https://web.archive.org/web/20250414170014/https://mishpacha.com/ready-willing-and-able/). *mishpacha.com*. Archived from [the original](https://mishpacha.com/ready-willing-and-able/) on 14 April 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Terrorism 2000/2001. U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Accessed April 11, 2026.](https://web.archive.org/web/20121007083445/https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/terror)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Yechiel Leiter"](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/yechiel-leiter). *www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org*. Retrieved 28 June 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** [Terrorism 2000/2001. U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Accessed April 11, 2026.](https://web.archive.org/web/20121007083445/https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/terror)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Soffer-Roth, Natasha (14 May 2025). ["How Kahanism found its way into the Israeli political mainstream"](https://www.972mag.com/kahanism-israeli-politics-likud/). *+972 Magazine*. Retrieved 7 April 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Mishpacha_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Mishpacha_11-1) Rose, Binyamin ["Ready, Willing, and Able"](https://mishpacha.com/ready-willing-and-able/), *[Mishpacha](/source/Mishpacha)*, April 8, 2025. Accessed February 27, 2026. "Leiter left Scranton to further his Torah education at Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim in New York for two years. At age 18, he realized his boyhood dream of making aliyah and enrolled in a Hesder yeshivah in Kiryat Arba and served in the IDF."

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** [Israel’s new US ambassador suggests Saudi normalisation on the brink](https://www.thejc.com/news/world/israels-us-ambassador-saudi-normalisation-xyz5dgkb)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Soffer-Roth, Natasha (14 May 2025). ["How Kahanism found its way into the Israeli political mainstream"](https://www.972mag.com/kahanism-israeli-politics-likud/). *+972 Magazine*. Retrieved 7 April 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Israel's US envoy says settler violence a 'stain' costing the nation friends"](https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-us-envoy-says-settler-violence-a-stain-costing-the-nation-friends/). *The Times of Israel*. 25 March 2026. Retrieved 15 April 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Kempinski, Yoni. ["Dr. Yechiel Leiter to be Israel's next Ambassador to the US"](https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/398850). *Israel National News*. Retrieved 28 June 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Leiter, Yechiel. ["John Locke’s Political Philosophy and the Hebrew Bible"](https://assets.cambridge.org/97811084/28187/frontmatter/9781108428187_frontmatter.pdf), [Cambridge University Press](/source/Cambridge_University_Press). Accessed February 27, 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** [ד"ר יחיאל לייטר מונה לתפקיד שגריר ישראל בארה"ב](https://www.davar1.co.il/556633/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Dr Yechiel Leiter appointed Israel Ambassador to the United States"](https://www.davar1.co.il/556633/) (in Hebrew). 8 November 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** ["Likud Candidate From Samaria: 'Annex Regions in Yesha'"](http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/128612#.UU1cczfc84c). israelnationalnews.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** [Dr Yechiel (Michael) Leiter](http://www.3hge.com) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140224113411/http://www.3hge.com/) 24 February 2014 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), 3hge.com

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** Kam, Anat (22 February 2010). ["Operation Yonatan?"](https://b.walla.co.il/item/1646092). *Walla* (in Hebrew).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** Shalev, Tal (13 March 2017). ["בסיוע איש סודו של נתניהו: כך התפתח הקשר החם בין ישראל לפרגוואי"](https://news.walla.co.il/item/3047134). *Walla* (in Hebrew).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-23)** Mizrahi, Nissim (24 November 2024). ["פה אחד: הממשלה אישרה את מינויו של לייטר לשגריר בארה"ב"](https://www.jdn.co.il/news/2307628/). *JDN* (in Hebrew).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** Reichner, Itamar (8 November 2024). ["יחיאל לייטר, תושב גוש עציון ששכל את בנו במלחמה, יהיה השגריר בארה"ב"](https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/hyutodjbye). *Ynet* (in Hebrew).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-25)** Kahana, Ariel (29 January 2024). [""יש לישראל ידידה במערב אפריקה": חיבוק מליבריה לאב השכול"](https://www.israelhayom.co.il/news/local/article/15182299). *HaYom* (in Hebrew).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-26)** Delfino, Jessica. ["Scranton-born man will serve as Israel’s ambassador to U.S."](https://www.citizensvoice.com/2024/11/08/scranton-born-man-will-serve-as-israels-ambassador-to-u-s/), *[The Citizens' Voice](/source/The_Citizens'_Voice)*, November 8, 2024. Accessed February 27, 2026. "Dr. Yechiel Leiter, 65, was appointed Friday to the ambassador role by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Leiter previously served as deputy director general of the Education Ministry, chief of staff for the Finance Ministry and acting chairman of the Israel Ports Company."

1. **[^](#cite_ref-27)** ["Moving coexistence towards success"](https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/moving-coexistence-towards-success-592857). *The Jerusalem Post*. 22 June 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-28)** Mackinnon, Amy. ["Israeli ambassador casts staff killings as part of wider Middle East war"](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/22/israeli-ambassador-staff-killings-war-00366058), *[Politico](/source/Politico)*, May 22, 2025. Accessed February 27, 2026. "Israel’s ambassador to the United States cast the killing of two of his country’s staffers in Washington as part of the Jewish state’s multifront war in the Middle East against Iran and its proxies.... “The state of Israel is now fighting a war on seven fronts. This is the eighth front. The war to demonize, delegitimize and to eradicate the right of the state of Israel to exist,' Leiter said. The Israeli ambassador spoke to the press on Thursday outside the Capital Jewish Museum where Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were shot dead on Wednesday evening as they left an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee."

1. **[^](#cite_ref-29)** זיתון, יואב; חדד, תמר טרבלסי; קימון, אלישע בן (11 November 2023). ["אסון בבית חאנון: קצין ו-3 לוחמים נהרגו מפיר ממולכד ליד מסגד, 4 נפצעו קשה"](https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/h1gbuet7t). *Ynet* (in Hebrew). Retrieved 11 November 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-30)** [Maj. (res.) Moshe Leiter, 39: Father of 6 training to be a doctor](https://www.timesofisrael.com/maj-res-moshe-leiter-39-father-of-6-training-to-be-a-doctor/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Leiter1988_31-0)** Leiter, Yechiel M. (1988). [*עלה נעלה*](https://books.google.com/books?id=8S_HOAAACAAJ). מחדשי היישוב היהודי בחברון. p. 226.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Leiter1993_32-0)** Leiter, Yechiel M. (1994). [*A Peace to Resist: Why the Rabin-Arafat Deal Must Be Stopped, and How It Can Be Done*](https://books.google.com/books?id=KhfRGwAACAAJ). Yesha Council Foreign Desk ; New York. p. 65. [\[1\]](https://www.amazon.com/Peace-Resist-Rabin-Arafat-Stopped/dp/B0056FPJ2I)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Leiter1994_33-0)** Leiter, Yechiel (1994). [*Crisis in Israel*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Rija4NqQj-sC). SP Books. p. 224. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1561713384](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1561713384). ([\[2\]](https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1561713384))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Leiter1999_34-0)** Leiter, Yechiel M. (1999). [*Israel at the Cross-roads: The View from the Hills of Judea and Samaria*](https://books.google.com/books?id=BLBUGwAACAAJ). One Israel Fund. p. 133. [\[3\]](https://www.amazon.com/s?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Yechiel+Leiter&x=0&y=0)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Leiter2008_35-0)** Yechiel Leiter (Fall 2008). ["The Hebraic Roots of John Locke's Doctrine of Charity"](http://jcpa.org/article/the-hebraic-roots-of-john-lockes-doctrine-of-charity/). Jewish Political Studies Review 20:3-4. Retrieved 3 May 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-NuovoReview_36-0)** Nuovo, Victor (3 September 2018). ["John Locke's Political Philosophy and the Hebrew Bible (book review)"](https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/john-lockes-political-philosophy-and-the-hebrew-bible/). *Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews*. Retrieved 4 October 2018.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Yechiel Leiter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yechiel_Leiter) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yechiel_Leiter?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.