Thousands of people accompanied Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidya Leiter, 39, from Ein Tzurim, on his final journey on Sunday, at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl. Leiter, a company commander in the 697th Battalion of the 551st Brigade, fell in Beit Hanoun when an IED exploded in a tunnel shaft under the mosque. He was survived by his wife and six children.
Just before entering. Photo of reserve soldiers from the 551st Brigade, four of whom fell in the IED explosion in Beit Hanoun, photo: from Facebook
Tzipi, Moshe's wife: "Moshe, beloved of my heart, all your years come together for one moment. Love of twenty years. All my life I have asked for peace and quiet and I have found them in your heart. You're all inside me even though you're gone. You fell a heroic death. A person who is beyond time and place, almost forty years of yours beloved, equal at least eighty of every other person. All of you were one big light, now the light is scattered into thousands of small fragments. I swear to you, my beloved children, that you will live a good life. It will hurt a lot, but we'll catch up with the pieces slowly. Dad is hidden from view, but he's inside us forever. Hello, the champion of my youth, yours Zippele."
Daughter Carmi: "You made me the best version of myself. I appreciated your knowledge, your modesty. I learned from you not to despair. I always felt protected next to you, you conveyed calm and in control of things. Dad, you left us a huge void. Know that we will be strong. It's hard for me now, but I know it will be good in the end."
Documentation of the activity of the 551st Brigade forces in the Gaza Strip // Photo: IDF Spokesperson
Lt. Col. Erez: "We stand here today shocked and pained. You were always prepared, determined, sharp. You acted courageously in striving for touch. You were a motivated commander. Leiter, it's so hard to talk about you in the past tense. You entered the fighting first, encountered the enemy and hit him. You were a fierce warrior and a model for fighters. We knew there was someone to rely on. We will miss your captivating smile, your kindness. We will continue to raise the fighters for your values."
7th Wing Commander Col. T.: "Moshe, command, friend, brother. The heart refuses to believe, this blow is one too many. How can this pain be contained? You were the jewel in our crown. Radiating courage, peaceful faith in the righteousness of the path. I learned from you, you guided me diligently in the mission and how to be human. We keep fighting forward. We are fighting for the Jewish people, we are fighting for the essence of being a free and independent state. Leiter said goodbye to us as a figure of inspiration. We have a covenant of life. The Leiter family, we are always with you."
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