Three years after losing one son, father prays for critically wounded second son

The father of IDF soldier Moshe Yedidyah, who was killed three years ago, marked the anniversary of his death by calling for national unity and sharing an emotional prayer for his other son, Neria, who was critically wounded and is fighting for his life. In a post on X , Israel's Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter recalled gathering with family at Moshe's grave on Mount Herzl and reflecting on how to carry on without his eldest son. He said the family had chosen not to surrender to grief, but instead to preserve Moshe's memory through a commitment to responsibility, unity, and love.

"After all, this is how he would introduce himself to his soldiers: 'Hello, I am Moshe. I love this country, and I love the IDF,'" he wrote. He also shared words written by Moshe's brother, Neria, expressing his love for the IDF and describing military service as a privilege and an opportunity to take part in defending the Jewish state. Neria was critically wounded and arrived at the hospital without a pulse. His father reflected that it was even possible he had briefly encountered his older brother in the moments between life and death.

Standing at Moshe's grave, he said, he had asked his son to help amplify the family's prayers and plead with God to bring Neriyah home and restore him to health. "In the face of the murderous ideology that robbed me of one son, and nearly cost me another, we must do as Moshe would have done, were he still here: stand together, undivided, and fight for our country, which we love so dearly," he wrote.