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I’m an American Jew with Iranian Roots: Here’s Why I’m Investing in Israel
A general view shows thousands of Jewish worshipers attending the priestly blessing on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, Sept. 26, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Ammar Awad.
For Iranian-American Jews, the latest escalations between Israel and Iran felt especially personal.
Many of us watched the three pillars of our identity collide on the world stage, with growing uncertainty about what comes next. Like many others, I speak Farsi, cook the dishes created by my Persian ancestors, and still dream of a world where I can take my children to visit Iran.
The people in our community host Shabbat dinners that echo the spirit of Iranian Mehmoonis, rather than the typical American Shabbat at home. At the same time, we speak Hebrew, send our children to Jewish camps, and celebrate holidays with family and community — living at the intersection of rich, layered traditions.
And we also relate to the human rights and political challenges that so many Iranians face today. The world now sees a glimpse of what our families once endured to escape Iran.
Growing up, my grandfather told me stories about his childhood there in the 1930s and 1940s — about how Jews weren’t allowed on the streets when it rained because of the antisemitic belief that their supposed uncleanliness would contaminate the ground.
By the 1950s, under the Shah, Jews were able to participate in society and contribute to Iran’s growing industrial economy, despite continued antisemitism. And though many Iranians looked down on him, my grandfather — like so many others — remained a proud Zionist.
But everything changed with the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Iran was no longer safe for my family. They fled first to Israel, and then to Los Angeles, where their American Dream began.
They rebuilt their lives in a new country, carrying their culture with them, and worked hard to provide my family with opportunities. They saw no reason to look back. Through hard work, risk, and luck, they made a name for themselves and built generational companies in aerospace manufacturing and telecommunications.
Still, their love for Israel was deeply ingrained in who they were. And more than love or pride, they believed in Israel’s potential and the resilience of its people.
Even after leaving Israel in the late 1970s, they viewed the country with inspiration. With their children’s futures in mind, my grandparents invested in Israeli technology, energy, and real estate, hoping these ventures would help the next generation of my family maintain ties with the country and its people. And that’s exactly what happened.
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, but the values my family passed down have always tethered me to Israel. As a child, I visited the Jewish State for summer camps and holidays. In high school, I lived with an Israeli family and attended school there. Even as life got busier with college and my career, I made a point to stay connected to my roots, to my family, and to Israel.
As my career progressed, Israel was increasingly becoming a highly investable place in both technology and real estate, despite being a resource-poor country. This wasn’t a coincidence.
Israeli innovation and military prowess stem from its need to defend itself — a reality every Israeli confronts through mandatory military service. This experience, especially in elite intelligence units, exposes young people to cutting-edge technology and instills the discipline and leadership that drive many to launch start-ups.
Over the last five years, I helped bring together a group of Persian-Jewish families to invest in Israel’s technology ecosystem. With the help of friends I made in Israel throughout my life, I’ve developed lasting partnerships and invested in many of the country’s most dynamic businesses.
Just as it was for my grandparents, Israel is once again a source of inspiration for our generation. To me, Israel is not just a refuge — but a future. I hope to show other people why the country is worthy of their investment, while also being a place to visit and support through philanthropy.
Since October 7, 2023, the Tel Aviv 35 index has climbed nearly 50 percent, while the Israeli shekel has gained more than 10 percent against the US dollar. Israel is home to one of the world’s most concentrated and dynamic technology ecosystems, generating over $140 billion in tech exits since 2014, and consistently ranking among the top four countries for the number of companies listed on the Nasdaq.
Iran is the land of my family’s past, my family’s language, and our most cherished traditions. I still dream of walking the streets of Tehran not as a child of refugees, but as a proud Iranian American Jew.
But Israel is where our past meets our future, a place that calls on us to invest our time, our love, and, yes, our money, to help ensure the country’s future.
Ariel Torbati is a private equity and venture capital investor based in Los Angeles. He is a founding partner of Canon Equity and a third-generation member of the Nazarian family office.
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Israeli Foreign Minister Says ‘No Place’ for Macron Visit if France Continues With Palestinian State Recognition
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar attends a press conference with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (not pictured) in Berlin, Germany, June 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Thursday urged his French counterpart to drop France’s plan to recognize a Palestinian state, saying that French President Emmanuel Macron is not welcome to visit the Jewish state if Paris “persists in its initiative and in efforts that harm Israel’s interests.”
According to a statement from his office, Saar spoke with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, calling on him to reconsider France’s initiative to recognize a Palestinian state.
He warned that such a move would “undermine stability in the Middle East and harm Israel’s national and security interests.”
As long as France proceeds with its planned unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state this month, Saar said that there would be “no place” for Macron to visit Israel.
“Israel seeks good relations with France, but France must respect Israel’s position when it comes to matters essential to its security and future,” the top Israeli diplomat said during their conversation.
Macron plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly this month as part of its “commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East,” even though nearly 80 percent of French citizens reject the move.
Israeli officials have condemned the initiative, calling it a “reward for terrorism” and warning that it would undermine future diplomatic talks.
Saar has criticized France’s recent actions, accusing it of consistently undermining Israel on the international stage.
More recently, tensions escalated after his French counterpart asserted the Palestinian Authority (PA) had ended its “pay-for-slay” program — a claim the Israeli diplomat firmly rejects as false.
The PA, which has long been riddled with accusations of corruption, has also maintained for years a so-called “pay-for-slay” program, which rewards terrorists and their families for carrying out attacks against Israelis.
Under the policy, the Palestinian Authority Martyr’s Fund makes official payments to Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, the families of “martyrs” killed in attacks on Israelis, and injured Palestinian terrorists. Reports estimate that approximately 8 percent of the PA’s budget is allocated to paying stipends to convicted terrorists and their families.
Abbas had announced plans to reform the system earlier this year, but the PA has continued to issue payments, with top officials saying they will not deduct any of the funds.
“You speak of the war, but your moves against the State of Israel not only undermine stability and will not bring peace — they prolong the war. And it is no coincidence that Hamas praised them,” Saar said in a post on X, responding to Barrot in a heated public exchange.
“The rest is empty words and illusions. Back in Paris and at conferences, you may believe and promote these illusions. Here, we will not buy them,” the Israeli diplomat continued.
Dear Jean Noël,
I was astonished to read your claim that the Palestinian Authority allegedly “ended” the pay-for-slay payments. The facts on this matter are clear and unequivocal (and I am sure they are also known to French intelligence): The PA simply replaced the old system… https://t.co/r1sxS9nf55
— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) September 3, 2025
During his conversation with Barrot, Saar also argued that PA President Mahmoud Abbas has avoided holding elections for nearly 20 years due to his limited support among Palestinians, making him an unreliable interlocutor.
Western powers have been negotiating with the PA on conditions for Gaza governance after Hamas is removed from power, while the PA continues to pledge reforms — a strategy experts say is unlikely to succeed given its lack of credibility and ongoing support for terrorism against Israel.
According to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), if an agreement is reached to end the war in Gaza, only 40 percent of Palestinians “support the return of the PA to managing the affairs of the Gaza Strip,” while 56 percent oppose it.
US officials have also condemned France’s initiative to recognize a Palestinian state, arguing that the move would do little to advance peace.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington has warned other countries that recognizing a Palestinian state would only create more problems.
“We told all these countries, we told them all, we said if you guys do this recognition stuff it’s all fake, it’s not even real, if you do it you’re going to create problems,” Rubio said during a press conference in Ecuador.
“There’s going to be a response, it’s going to make it harder to get a ceasefire and it may even trigger these sorts of actions that you’ve seen, or at least these attempts at these actions,” the US official continued, referring to Israel’s plans to consider annexation in the West Bank.
Dear @jnbarrot,
Listen to @SecRubio words.
You know it’s true.
Don’t whitewash “pay for slay”.
Don’t whitewash PA crimes! pic.twitter.com/EMJeGDZivE— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) September 4, 2025
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Sen. Tom Cotton Urges FBI to Investigate Palestinian Youth Movement Leader Who Called for Targeting F-35 Program
US Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 11, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson
US Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) has called on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate a pro-Hamas activist who urged supporters to sabotage the US supply chain for the F-35 fighter jet, one of America’s most advanced military assets and a critical component of Israel’s defense.
In a letter sent to FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday, Cotton warned that Aisha Nizar, a leader and organizer of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), “directly endangered US national security” when she addressed a Palestinian conference in Detroit last week. Durin the event, Nizar told attendees that targeting “nodes” in the F-35 production process could have “a huge impact” on the program.
“We need to be surgical. We need to be strategic … Because there are many different points of these supply chains of death that we can intervene in and we must intervene in,” Nizar said at the People’s Conference for Palestine.
The F-35 program is widely regarded as a cornerstone of US and allied air power, and Israel is the only country in the Middle East authorized to operate the jets. Cotton argued that calls to undermine the program represent not just anti-Israel activism, but also a direct assault on American workers and defense readiness.
“Nizar’s statements constitute direct incitement of violence against US national security interests by advocating for actions against the men and women who build the F-35,” Cotton wrote. He urged the FBI to “immediately examine Nizar’s actions and take any necessary actions to mitigate the threat.”
PYM has emerged as one of the most radical anti-Israel, pro-Hamas groups in the US since the war in Gaza started, organizing raucous protests targeting Jewish and pro-Israel events across the country.
Nizar has previously faced legal trouble over her role in disruptive protests amid the Israel-Hamas war, including a demonstration that shut down the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Cotton, an outspoken supporter of the US-Israel strategic alliance, said her ties to PYM, which he has accused of harboring antisemitic views and benefiting from questionable tax-exempt donations, warrant closer scrutiny.
“The defense supply chain is a key to our military’s ability to fight and win wars. We must protect that supply chain from all enemies, foreign and domestic,” he concluded in his letter.
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Israeli Military Says It Controls 40% of Gaza City, Plans to Expand Operation in Coming Days
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a tent, outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Sept. 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khamis Al-Rifi
Israel controls 40 percent of Gaza City, a military spokesperson said on Thursday, as thousands of residents defied Israeli orders to leave in order for soldiers to target Hamas terrorists without civilians in harm’s way.
In Gaza City, Israeli forces have advanced through the outer suburbs and are now a few kilometers (miles) from the city center.
“We continue to damage Hamas’s infrastructure. Today we hold 40 percent of the territory of Gaza City,” Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin told a news conference, naming the Zeitoun and Sheikh Radwan neighborhoods. “The operation will continue to expand and intensify in the coming days.”
“We will continue to pursue Hamas everywhere,” he said, adding that the mission will only end when Israel‘s remaining hostages are returned and Hamas’s rule ends.
Defrin confirmed that army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir told cabinet ministers that without a day-after plan, they would have to impose military rule in Gaza. Far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have been pushing for Israel to impose military rule in Gaza and establish settlements there, which Netanyahu has so far ruled out.
Israel launched the offensive in Gaza City on Aug. 10, in what Netanyahu says is a plan to defeat Hamas terrorists in the part of Gaza where Israeli troops fought most heavily in the war’s initial phase.
The campaign has prompted international criticism because of the humanitarian crisis in the area and has provoked unusual levels of concern within Israel, including accounts of tension over strategy between some military commanders and political leaders.
The Israeli military has said it is operating on the outskirts of Gaza City to dismantle terrorists’ tunnels and locate weapons.
Much of Gaza City was laid to waste in the war’s initial weeks in October-November 2023. About a million people lived there before the war, and hundreds of thousands are believed to have returned to live among the ruins, especially since Israel ordered people out of other areas and launched offensives elsewhere.
Israel, which has now told civilians to leave Gaza City again for their safety, says 70,000 have done so, heading south. Palestinian officials say less than half that number have left and many thousands still lie in the path of Israel‘s advance.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian terrorists led by Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking 251 hostages into Gaza.
Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities and political rule in neighboring Gaza.
Prospects for a ceasefire and a deal to release the remaining 48 hostages, 20 of whom are thought to still be alive, appear dim.