Leo Dee in talks to become Israeli special envoy to Jewish world
Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has offered Rabbi Leo Dee, who lost his wife and two daughters in a Palestinian terrorist attack, to become a special envoy to Jewish communities worldwide.
Rebbitzin Leah (Lucy) and Rabbi Leo Dee
Lucy Dee, 48, Maia, 20, and Rina, 15, were murdered in an April 7 shooting on the Route 57 highway near the Hamra Junction in the Jordan Valley.
Last month, Leo Dee recited the Yizkor memorial prayer at Israel’s main ceremony marking the state’s 75th Independence Day.
Earlier this month, Israeli forces killed the Palestinian terrorists who murdered the three women.
The terrorists, identified as Hamas members Hassan Katnani and Muad Masri, were shot dead in an exchange of fire after Israeli forces surrounded their hideout in Nablus’s Kasbah (Old City). Ibrahim Hura, identified by the IDF as a collaborator with the Hamas terrorists, also died in the raid.
Leo inaugurated “Dees Day” on April 10, which people across the globe marked by sharing on social media photos of themselves draped in Israeli flags.
“Today, we differentiate between good and evil, right and wrong,” said Dee of what is intended to be an annual event.
Dee compared moral relativism to a cocaine addiction, where the addict keeps magnifying the problem.
“Let’s reverse this negative loop,” he said. “We will never accept terror as legitimate. We will never blame the murder on the victims. There is no such thing as moral equivalence between terrorists and victims. The terrorist is always bad.”
Rabbi Leo Dee rehearses for Israel’s Independence Day ceremony at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem April 23, 2023. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
Dee compared Israel to a child who is blamed for building a sand castle on the beach after another kid destroys it. After the Jews gave the world the Bible, Israel has built so much life-saving and life-improving technology, yet it is blamed on the global stage, he said.
“The Israeli flag is the sign of good. It’s the side of building something worthy,” he continued. “Do it for your soul. Do it for the souls of Maia, Rina and Lucy Dee. Do it for all of humanity and do it now.”
“It has never been more urgent,” he added.
Leo Dee has three surviving children: Keren, Tali and Yonathan.
JNS
Judging by his very perspicacious remarks, Rabbi Leo Dee has the makings of a truly excellent envoy!