Israel's Ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, whose son Major Moshe Leiter fell in battle in Gaza in November 2023, spoke with a delegation of freed hostages visiting the US, and underscored the enduring strength of Israel.

"What this whole experience is saying is that all those who challenge our right to our homeland is you can’t challenge the home of the Jewish people," he said. "You can’t break our hostages two years in dungeons. You can’t break the Jewish People in 2,000 years of hopes and prayers to return to our homeland. When it all comes together what it all represents is not just a celebration of this evening, but a celebration of the miracle that is Israel."

Leiter continued, "You are, from this day on, heroes. Take it with you. Wear it proudly. You have responsibilities. You have responsibilities to take this miracle that is so little understood and is so everyday challenged and broadcast it to the world."

In an emotional moment, Leiter added that, "I just want to conclude by saying that they prayers that you had were the prayers of our Bubbies and Zaydies, of all of our grandparents, who did not have an IDF to protect them for 2,000 years, and were chased from place to place, from pogrom to pogrom, from inquisition to inquisition and from holocaust to holocaust."

"Our soldiers carry those prayers on their backs today. And we, all of us together, we carry those prayers forwards and we’re confident that the God of Israel will watch over us, protect us, and we do our part."

Leiter related to Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, representatives of the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C., who were murdered on May 22 in an anti-Semitic shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum, after attending an event for young diplomats.

He turned to Yaron's parents, who attended the event, and said: "Your son and Sarah, are among the heroes that I spoke of. And they represent the conviction that no matter what our haters will do, we’re going to persevere".

"We’re going to persevere with resilience", Amb. Leiter concluded, "and we’re going to come out on top, because we’ve been doing it now for 3,500 years and by golly, we’re going to do it for another 3,000".