Dr. Yechiel Leiter, Israel's new Ambassador to the USA, gave a video statement today as he began his tenure. ''I was born in Scranton, Pensylvannia, to American parents. My mother was a third-generation American, my father a refugee from Nazi-occupied Austria,'' he began. ''He came to America in 1938 with his family, and always felt a tremendous sense of gratitude to the United States.'' He detailed his own background in the USA and Israel. ''I grew up in Scranton. I remember raising the American flag in the morning and taking it down in the evening before going home. I moved to Israel when I was 18 and served in the IDF in the first Lebanon war. I went on to receive my first degree in political science graduate degree from Salve Regina University, and my doctorate is in Political Philosophy at the University of Haifa.'' Leiter praised the USA's success. ''The United States is the leading democracy world, it's the most powerful country in the World, and the United States also stands for those values that we have advanced throughout Jewish history. We are advancing those efforts and goals for our success.'' He discussed the pain Israel is feeling. ''We're a country that is facing a certain degree of trauma after the October 7th massacre. So many soldiers lost their lives and their families are suffering. So many people have been removed from their homes because of attacks from Hezbollah and Hamas. I personally have made a tremendous sacrifice - I remember when the knock came on the door. It was late Friday night, but I knew what the knock was before opening the door.'' Related articles: 'No more double standard on Israel' Yechiel Leiter assumes role as Israel's Ambassador to the US Cabinet approves appointment of Israel's Ambassador to US Dr. Yechiel Leiter to be Israel's next Ambassador to the US The knock was the news that his son, Major Moshe Yedidyah Leiter, had been killed in action in northern Gaza. ''He knew what he was fighting for. It's important for us that the world understands who is fighting this battle of good against evil - Israel stands at the forefront, and we're saying there's such thing as evil and we are going to fight it.'' Leiter detailed his hopes and plans for the future. ''Under the leadership of Prime Minister Netanyahu, we've seen the axis of evil degraded. Israel is an outpost of American values and American interests in the Middle East. The commonality of value in this changing era is only going to deepen and become richer. We are together improving humanity. As an Israeli, as a Jew, there could be nothing more important than fixing the world. We have much to do, and I'm ready to get to Washington, roll up my sleeves, and embrace the charge that we have of moving into the future. If in Middle East we can bring normalization and peace, then we're going to create a better world as well.''