Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said Israel’s framework agreement with Lebanon depends on conditions on the ground, not on a fixed timetable for an Israeli withdrawal, while warning that statements by Israeli politicians could damage Jerusalem’s standing in Washington.
Leiter, who led Israel’s delegation in the negotiations that led to the agreement with Lebanon, made the comments in a Thursday interview with the Jewish People Policy Institute’s podcast. He said Israel would not leave the security zone in southern Lebanon until the Lebanese army has full control over the entire area south of the Litani River and Hezbollah no longer has an armed presence there.
"The focus of the agreement is the dismantling of Hezbollah, not Israel’s withdrawal," said Leiter.
Some of Leiter’s sharpest remarks, however, focused less on Lebanon and more on Israel’s internal political debate, as well as the diplomatic damage caused by comments from members of the government.
Leiter was asked about his public criticism of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir after the minister published videos showing pro-Palestinian flotilla activists being humiliated. Leiter acknowledged that diplomatic protocol does not allow him to criticize elected officials, but said there are moments when he has no choice.
"If I identify something that severely harms Israel’s standing, embarrasses Israel, and gives credibility to our worst enemies, I will speak," he said.
Leiter was also asked about statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, as well as Jewish settler violence in the West Bank. He said that "things that should not be said, should not be said," regardless of whether they harm Israel’s public diplomacy efforts.
Leiter: Israelis 'a people in trauma' post-October 7
At the same time, Leiter sought to explain the broader context of Israel's position. Israel, he said, is "a people in trauma" in the wake of October 7, after the war, the dead, the wounded, and the displaced.
"We are not even in post-trauma. We are inside the trauma," he said.
Leiter also addressed Minister May Golan’s remarks about Reform Jews, in which she mocked Knesset member Gilad Kariv and said he "marries dogs in strange synagogues." The ambassador called the remarks "reprehensible" and "intolerable" and said he felt the need to apologize personally to Reform rabbis.
He said he canceled meetings in Congress and traveled to New York to speak before some 350 Reform rabbis at Stephen Wise Synagogue.
"I represent the government of Israel, but I also represent the people of Israel before the Jews of the United States," he explained.
J-Street 'a cancer in the Jewish community,' Leiter says
Leiter also stood by his criticism of J-Street, which he had previously called "a cancer in the Jewish community." In the interview, he did not retract the substance of his remarks, but sought to explain them.
An organization that says it is pro-Israel but works in Congress against Israeli government policy, especially on the issue of a weapons embargo, removes itself from the "Jewish tent," he said. He contrasted J-Street with AIPAC, which he said supports Israel’s elected government, whatever that government may be.
The ambassador also rejected a report that he had raised his voice at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a conversation about the Lebanon agreement.
"I do not raise my voice at the prime minister," he said, adding that the discussions were thorough conversations about the wording of the agreement.
"Sometimes you have to explain why we chose a certain word and not another word," he said, while emphasizing that he did not pressure Netanyahu to sign.