*Dr. Rabbi Yechiel Leiter’s message to President Joe Biden, delivered at the funeral of his son, Major Moshe Yedidya Leiter*
Dear Mr. President Joe Biden,
I’m taking the liberty of talking to you from Jerusalem.
We have two things in common, me and you.
We have two things in common.
Number one – we’re both born in Scranton PA, I still have my bank account, at the PNC bank, on Joe Biden blvd. My mom, may she live to 120, lives in Scranton, she’s a real Scrantonian, and my maternal grandparents are buried in Scranton. So that’s the first thing, Mr. Biden, we have in common.
The second thing we have in common is that as of last Friday, I, like you, am a bereaved parent. You lost a son, and I’ve lost a son, so we have two things in common, that’s why I’m taking the liberty.
So you know, because you lost a son, you know the pain that I’m feeling now. The harrowing sense of darkness, the stabbing of the heart, the longing to once again hug your boy, to talk to him about life, advise him in his career.
There is much I can tell you about how special he was. His 15 years in special forces and med-school; manager of two businesses, educational institutions; father of 6, his last son, born just 3 months ago, will never know his father.
But maybe we can talk about that sometime later. What I want to say to you, here and now, about our dear Moshe, was that he was fighting your fight, Mr. President! He was fighting *our* fight. He gave his life so the barbarians wouldn’t get through the gates of democracy, and of Judeo-Christian Western values. He was fighting for human freedom and against all the lies and distortions of the freedom-deniers, who fool so many Americans with their double talk. He was fighting against Hamas-ISIS.
There are rumors, now, that you’re putting pressure on Israel, to hold off, to cease the offensive. If those rumors are true – I hope they’re not – but if they’re true, I respectfully ask of you, here on my son’s grave, cease and desist. Stand back Mr. President, don’t pressure us. Let us do what we know how to do, what we must do – defeat evil. This is a war of light against darkness, of truth against lies, of civility against murderous barbarism. Take it from one plain speaking Scrantonian to another – we’re going to win this one, with you or without you. We’re gonna’ win it hands down. Never have the people of Israel been so united! This is our job, it’s what the Jewish people are here in this world to do – to fix the world! Sometimes fixing the world means using strength and force.
My Moshe died for a cause. Stand with us Mr. President. Maybe as we read in the biblical book of Esther, it’s the whole reason you are the leader of the free world. All of your long and illustrious career of leadership was in preparation for this very moment. Those who stand with us – will be blessed, those who do not stand with us – will fail. Stand with Moshe who loved America, and even trained with your Delta Force during his army service.