Israeli Ambassador to US Criticizes Violence in Qusra

Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, responded to recent clashes between Jews and Arabs in Samaria by stating in a video that violence carried out in the name of settling the land is a distortion of Torah commandments. Citing the Torah portion 'Shoftim,' Leiter emphasized that settling the Land of Israel involves more than geography or construction; it carries a profound moral dimension. 'What we saw in the village of Qusra is not what it means to settle the land,' Leiter said, adding that every city in Israel must uphold a system of justice as an integral part of the task of settling the land. Referring to comments by his colleague Mike Huckabee, Leiter stated that one cannot settle the land with 'unsettling' behavior. He argued that gratuitous violence by groups claiming to act for the sake of the land diverts energy from Israel’s military and law enforcement, calling such acts a distortion and a sacrilege. Leiter concluded that the Land of Israel is not merely a place to inhabit, but a place where one is commanded to live by justice.