December 6, 2010 | 11:13 pm

Iranian Nessah Synagogue celebrates 30 years and honors founders

Posted by Karmel Melamed

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Iranian Nessah Synagogue celebrates 30 years and honors founders

Last night I had a chance to witness a milestone in the history of Southern California’s Iranian Jewish community with the 30 year celebration of the establishment of the Nessah Synagogue located in Beverly Hills. The gala dinner was not just your typical fancy and over-the-top lavish Iranian Jewish party—  it was rather a night for the Nessah and local Iranian Jewry to extend their appreciation to 27 individuals from their community who have been giving back to the Iranian Jewish community over the decades.

The honorees included a whole host of individuals but perhaps the most interesting to me was Mr. Ebrahim Yahid who worked as an unofficial liaison between the State of Israel and the Iranian government from the 1950s to 1979 at the start of the Iranian Islamic revolution. Yahid was one of the many Iranians who helped forge the indirect friendly economic and political relationship Israel enjoyed with Iran prior to the collapse of the Shah’s regime. Yahid, who also served in the British military during World War II against the Nazis while based in Iran is among the last surviving members of his generation. He used his position in the British military to help Jewish children fleeing Nazi Europe to find refuge in Iran and helped smuggle Jewish soldiers from the former Soviet Union through Iran to emigrate to Israel. During the last 30 years or so, a retired Yahid has continued to serve L.A.’s Iranian Jewish community as a community volunteer and still maintained his ties to Israel by taking local Iranian Jews on tours of Israel as well as raising funds for the Jewish National Fund.

At the same time another remarkable aspect of the evening was the history of the Nessah organization since it’s inception in December of 1980. The non-profit was started by Hacham Yedidah Shofet, the late chief rabbi of Iran’s Jews, who gathered a small contingent of local Iranian Jews to pray together inside the Ashkenazi “Beth Jacob” synagogue in Beverly Hills. As the synagogue’s members at daily minyans and Shabbat morning services grew, the group’s events took place inside the current “Saban Theatre” near the Miracle Mile. Several years later the synagogue raised enough funds and bought a site in Santa Monica. Finally in 2002, with the help of the affluent members of the synagogue and the local Iranian Jewish community’s contributions, enough funds were gathered for the group to purchase its current $14 million site situated in Beverly Hills. Interestingly the synagogue’s building used to be used for worship by “The First Church of Christ” before Nessah acquired the location. According to Nessah’s out going president, Mehdi Soroudi, Nessah was able to pay down its $6.9 million mortgage this year by $1.9 million despite the poor economy. This ablity to pay down their debt is by all means a remarkable achievement for any non-profit organization and speaks volumes about the financial strength of Southern California’s Iranian Jews who have been supporting this religious non-profit over the past three decades.

On a final note, Nessah is no doubt one of the prime hearts of Southern California’s Iranian American Jews because it has held onto the ancient Jewish traditions of the past but also adapted to some of the modern ways of Jews living in the U.S.—  including its push for synagogue membership, which is a new concept for Iranian Jews.

The following are just a few photos I captured from the gala event at Nessah….

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November 12, 2010 | 11:37 am

Q&A with Fakheri about new “Project Jacob” program

Posted by Karmel Melamed

I have known Dariush Fakheri, the president of the L.A.-based International Judea Foundation (SIAMAK) for the last 10 years. During that time I’ve come discover that he is by far is one of most out-spoken and dynamic leaders of Southern California’s Iranian Jewish community. SIAMAK under his leadership has without fear tackled some of the most controversial, taboo and downright difficult challenges our immigrant community living in L.A. has encountered. Whether it be drug abuse, pre-martial sex among youngsters or issues of divorce, SIAMAK’s board members and Fakheri have been unafraid to seek real solutions to these problems plaguing L.A.’s Iranian Jews. With the local Iranian Jewish community well established, SIAMAK, along with other community groups are increasingly turning their attention to aiding Israel in different ways.

Earlier this year, the organization along with Israel’s Ben Gurion University unofficially launched “Project Jacob”, a program to fund, nurture and develop innovative medical, high-tech and alternative energy research at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University (BGU). The longstanding objective of the program is to help spur economic growth in Israel and job creation in the country.

Earlier this week my piece in the Journal highlighted Fakheri’s efforts to develop “Project Jacob” and the following is portion of my interview with him…

Can you give us some background on your organization, SIAMAK?

We were one of the first organizations formed more than 30 years ago. During these 30 years we were involved with some many projects with new Iranian Jewish immigrants to the U.S. to help them with acculturation, resettlement, find housing and work. It was a huge job, but we were a bunch of young energetic people and we took on that challenge head on. Thankfully we were successful with these efforts. Every decade our priorities changed, once people were settled they had families who could help them. We then turned our attention to young people in our community to encourage them to stick to Judaism, or help them with their drug problems or violence occurring in their home. Every ten years we changed our goals as the community became more settled and we tried to adapt to helping the community in different ways. Later on once we were settled, more affluent and comfortable in our settings, we started to help Israeli causes more than before. We were also involved in raising funds for Muslim refugees in Bosnia, different food banks in Israels, Rambam hospital in Hafia after the Hezbollah war in 2006 and even supporting the late professor Amnon Netzer’s research in Judeo-Persian language at Hebrew University in Israel.

Your organization two years ago separated from another local Iranian Jewish group, what about that split helped to bring “Project Jacob” to life?

After the split from that other organization, we ended up with having close to a quarter of million dollars. So what happened was for a few months was that we tried to get over the hurt of all of the ideas we had had and to bury many of them that were very dear for us. After a few months I realized that we were not going to reignite our organization (SIAMAK) anymore because we were short handed locally. So our board got together with how we could best use this money. We had seen that for the last 30 years we had many people from Israel who came to us begging for money because they were living below the poverty line. To me it was insulting for Jews to go around the world and begging for money in the 21st century! So we thought, why don’t we teach them how to fish instead of giving them fishes? If we explore the “oil wells’ that we do have in Israel— the talent and brains of the Israeli people, then Israel will become more successful. This were we came up with the idea for Project Jacob.

So Project Jacob will be funding and helping to spur the creation of new innovations at Ben Gurion University and Israel. What are some of the benefits and unique aspects of this program from other programs?

This is a multifaceted program. A portion of that money the innovators of these inventions make, will come back to fund the next generation of people involved with the project. We did this because we saw that a lot of inventions created in Israel are being sold for hundreds of millions of dollars around the world but not really benefiting Israel. So we wanted to create a solution to this problem where such inventions would benefit for Israel. For example, with Project Jacob will end up making a lot of people millionaires because they will sell their invention and fulfill their dreams. Also the Israel government will benefit from the taxes generated by the sales of these inventions and those funds that could be used for any use that the government sees fit. This project will also help to prevent “brain drain” from Israel because scientists and innovators will stay in the country when they know the money from their inventions will to stay there. The overriding effect of inventions created in Israel is also good for Israel’s image because it shows that Jews and Israel are interested in “Tikkun Olam”. Likewise, if we have a vibrant economy, then this may encourage more aliyah to Israel. Lastly, if we can help Ben Gurion University, then we can help the Negev region prosper, release the traffic that is suffocating Tel Aviv and encourage development with more young people moving to the Negev.

What are the overhead costs for running Project Jacob?

No one from our organization makes a penny working for this organizations and any costs associated with it are paid by us. If I have to visit someone to encourage them to get involved with this program, I will pay for it out of my own pocket— and there are no administrative costs. This project was not named after anyone’s family name because it will allow anyone interested to join the project. If we could sponsor an inventor or a brain, then one invention by itself could support the whole project.

Can you explain how Project Jacob will advance the concept of “Tikkun Olam” or healing the world?

This project is a humanitarian effort in our eyes— for example, if we support the discovery of a vaccination it will not just help sick Jews, but aid all people around the world who are in need of it. Whatever we are doing, the beneficiaries are humanity. Anyone who wants to come to join this crusade we are involved with is more than welcomed. This is something that will help all humanity. After working 40 years on behalf of the community and not spending as much time with my family I said it’s enough— but you can’t stand still and see an opportunity like this that can benefit so many people in so many ways and do nothing.

What feedback have you received so far from those who have been introduced to Project Jacob in the U.S.?

Everyone I have spoken to is very excited about it. We’ve even had an offer by a U.S. company to buy one of the inventions that we have sponsored in this project. I am totally convinced that this project will cause an avalanche. If we have one successful project that is offered to the market and is picked up it will create more. We paid $200,000 in February 2010 to start the project and have made a commitment of $1 million. But I believe the contributions to this project will be much more once people see the potential and success of these inventions.

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October 27, 2010 | 7:01 am

“The Desperate” wins best short film at Hollywood Film Festival

Posted by Karmel Melamed

Iranian Jewish filmmaker Ben Hur Sepher was shocked on Sunday night Oct. 24 when his independent short film “The Desperate” was announced as the best short film at the Hollywood Film Festival. A humble Sepher accepted the trophy for the heart-wrenching film that deals with an eminent Jewish surgeon imprisoned at a Nazi concentration camp during World War II who is conscripted at gunpoint to perform emergency surgery on the son of a fearsome Nazi general. The film stars television series regular Peter Mark Richman, who gives a remarkable performance as the guilt ridden Jewish surgeon Dr. Blumenthal in the film.

But this latest award is not the only acclaim the film has received since it was released earlier this year. “The Desperate” has so far won 17 top honors at a whole host of national film festivals including best Short Film of 2010 at the California Independent Film Festival and runner up for best Short Film of 2010 at the Los Angeles Jewish film Festival.

I caught up with Sepher who was caught off guard with his film’s latest win when he said “I am honestly surprised to receive such an honor at the Hollywood Film Festival— I wasn’t expecting it at all”. Sepher is one of the Iranian Jewish community’s rare filmmakers who has made a name for himself in Iran and the United States for writing, directing and producing provocative films. His occupation as a filmmaker is indeed unique in the Iranian Jewish community because individuals who pursued careers in the arts or entertainment in Iran were typically not looked highly upon or even respected. Nevertheless Sepher was trained in his craft at the Swedish Film Institute and began his career at the Stockholm State Theatre as a protégée to renown film director Ingmar Bergman. Sepher went on to direct films and plays in Iran and was the personal filmmaker to the late Shah of Iran— shooting the Shah’s private meeting and gatherings. Since immigrating to the U.S. three decades ago, he has gone on to direct a whole host of television programs and short films in Hollywood.

What I found truly remarkable was the fact that the “The Desperate” was produced by a filmmaker of Iranian descent. This speaks volumes in light of Iran’s current president denying the existence of the Holocaust. No doubt this short film will draw the attention of Iranians living worldwide who are interested in learning more about the realities of the Holocaust.

Here is a clip from “The Desperate”....

The following is my brief January 2010 interview with Sepher about his film “The Desperate” and his career in the industry….

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October 17, 2010 | 11:17 am

Webcasts: 30YA’s 2010 Conference - A Call for Iranian Jewish activism

Posted by Karmel Melamed

History was made on October 10, 2010 at 30 Years After’s conference on Iranian American Jewish social and political activism in the U.S. The following are just some of the interviews and speeches I captured during my reporting on this conference….

My interview with 30YA president Sam Yebri about the outcome of this year’s conference:

L.A.‘s Sinai Temple Rabbi David Wolpe calls on young Iranian Jewish professionals to become more involved in community activism during his speech:

Making a special appearance at 30YA’s conference at the Century City Hyatt hotel, U.S. Senate candidate from California, Carly Fiorina, addresses the crowd of Iranian Jews about the reason she wanted to enter politics today:

Tel Aviv University’s Iranian Jewish professor of Iranian Studies, David Menasheri speaks on his panel about what caused the 1979 revolution in Iran and its outcome when radical Shiite Islamists took power in that country:

One of 30YA’s board members Michael Yadegaran speaks to me about the panel on Israel activism on college campuses he spoke on during the conference:

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, whose father is an Iranian Jew, spoke at the 30YA conference. In this video clip I captured Boteach denounced the United Nations for allowing Iran’s president to spew his hatred of Israel and the Iranian president blaming the 9/11 attacks on the U.S.:

Israel’s Consul General in Los Angeles, Jacob Dayan, calls on the members of 30YA to become politically active on the issue of Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons:

Yale Professor Firuz Kazamzadeh, who is also Bahai, spoke on this panel about the mistreatment and human rights abuses against people from the Bahai faith living in Iran today:

30YA Board Member Debbie Farnoush speaks about the outcome of the 30YA conference this year:

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October 17, 2010 | 11:07 am

Webcast: Former L.A. DWP chief Nahai defends 30YA amidst union controversy

Posted by Karmel Melamed

I caught up with the former L.A. Department of Water & Power chief, H. David Nahai before the 30 Years After (30YA) conference on October 10th before he was to appear on a panel for the conference to get his reactions to the recent controversy 30YA was caught up in with the Hyatt hotel worker’s union. Nahai, a local Iranian American Jewish activist, who is not a member of 30YA but has spoken at their past events, set the record straight with me about the realistic difficulties the organization faced when the hotel worker’s union asked 30YA to remove their conference from the Hyatt Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles only three weeks before its launching.

The following is my interview with Nahai about the Union dispute which targeted 30YA…

Read more about the 30YA conference being targeted by the hotel’s worker union “Unite Here - Local 11” in my latest article HERE.

Read more about the 30YA conference in my latest articles HERE and HERE.

 

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October 17, 2010 | 11:01 am

Photo Essay: 30YA’s 2010 biennial conference calls for greater Iranian Jewish activism

Posted by Karmel Melamed

Despite being caught in the middle of a labor dispute involving the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel and its workers, the Los Angeles-based Iranian Jewish political and civic action group 30 Years After (30YA) welcomed roughly 1,200 people, most of them local Iranian Jews, to its second biennial conference on Oct. 10. About a dozen picketers from UNITE HERE Local 11 lined up outside the Hyatt during the early morning hours, along with protesting members of the Jewish Labor Committee, but despite their presence, the conference moved forward uninterrupted.

30 Years After was established in 2008 to give voice to young professionals in the Iranian Jewish community who want to make a contribution to the larger community but have often felt ignored or held back by the older Iranian Jewish leadership.

An array of local community and religious leaders spoke to the group, including Sinai Temple’s Rabbi David Wolpe and talk-show host and author Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who urged the group to become more philanthropic toward both Jewish and non-Jewish causes. “We’re not successful Iranian Jews because we live in Beverly Hills, or wear Gucci, or have million-dollar weddings — we’re successful Iranian Jews because of our Jewish values and our commitment to tikkun olam,” Boteach told the crowd.

Some prominent elected officials and candidates on the upcoming November ballot were in attendance, including Republicans Meg Whitman, who is running for California governor, and Carly Fiorina, who is running for the California Senate seat; both of them spoke. Their Democratic counterparts had turned down invitations. Other local Democrats who initially agreed to come included Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and California Assembly members Mike Feuer and Bob Blumenfield, but they all canceled in support of the hotel workers’ union, instead providing video messages praising 30YA for its political activism in the Iranian Jewish community during the past year.

“30 Years After was instrumental in encouraging the legislature to pass and the governor to sign the ‘Iran Contracting Act of 2010’ (AB 1650), which prohibits companies doing business with Iran’s energy sector to be contracting with the State of California for contract in excess of $20 million,” Blumenfield said in his video address.

Following the event, 30YA board members said they received positive feedback from attendees, who also had opportunities to participate in smaller group discussions covering an array of topics.
“We were very pleased with the outcome of this year’s conference because of the large attendance and the fact that our break-out sessions provided our attendees with the key tools to go out there and apply what they’ve learned to help the community,” said Sam Yebri, president of the organization.

The following are just some of the snapshots from the conference I captured….

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October 11, 2010 | 6:54 am

L.A.‘s Iranian Jews proud of UCLA’s new Nazarian Center for Israel Studies

Posted by Karmel Melamed

On October 5th I had the unique opportunity to witness a historical milestone in Iranian American Jewish life during an event at UCLA for the launching of the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Israel Studies Center. The Iranian Jewish couple who emigrated to the U.S. from Iran after that country’s 1979 revolution are one of only dozen folks in L.A.’s community that truly make me proud to be an Iranian Jew because of their unceasing support of all causes related to Israel. Even though they have achieved tremendous success in business, they have never forgotten that Israel was their spiritual homeland and their true Jewish safe haven. The couple has not only been generous financially with charitable causes relating to Israel and Jewish life, but they promoted a tremendous amount of time and effort into these endeavors. What is truly remarkable and special for many of L.A.’s Iranian Jews is the fact that an Israel Studies Center was established at one of the world’s most prestigious schools, are members of their community— who just 30 years ago were immigrants who had left their lives and fortunes behind in Iran!

UCLA has now officially named the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies in honor of the couple. The Y & S Nazarian Family Foundation has made donations totaling $5 million to the university, which helped establish the Israel Studies Program in 2005 and created an endowment for the center. Formerly the Israel Studies Program, the center is the first full-fledged center of its kind on the West Coast and one of three such centers that are named and endowed in the nation. It offers courses on such varied topics as Israeli politics, law, economics, film, theater, environmental policy and the early history of Zionism. The center also presents speakers and organizes conferences that highlight Israel’s history, cultural diversity, and economic and technological achievements.

“This will be a very special center because we will be able to do serious academic work, research and public education when it comes to Israel,” said Arieh Saposnik, the center’s incoming director, who holds UCLA’s Gilbert Chair in Israel Studies. “This center will be important because we get typically get a one dimensional view of Israel in academia and the news, but this center will show the complexity of Israel which is not always known to the larger public with all of it’s challenges”.

During is brief speech Younes Nazarian express pride in Israel that he said offered “a sense of belonging” to him, where he no longer experienced the prejudice he faced in Iran as a Jew. He also said he and his wife were proud of their daughter, Sharon Baradaran, who chairs the center’s Advisory Board. “This center was brought about by our daughter, Sharon and her personal investment in this center which means a lot to us,” said Nazarian. “It fits well with the mission of our foundation which is education. Even though I don’t have a high education myself, I believe in the importance of supporting higher education”.

Nazarian family members also serve on numerous boards, including the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, the Pacific Council on International Policy, the University of Haifa, the Los Angeles Jewish Federation and the RAND Corp. The Nazarian family members were also among the original founders of the “Magbit Foundation”, a non-profit based in Beverly Hills and started by affluent Iranian American Jews less than 20 years ago that provides interest-free loans to under-privileged but academically promising college students in Israel.

On an interesting side note, Younes and Soraya Nazarian are also the parents to the prominent Los Angeles Iranian Jewish hotelier and night club owner, Sam Nazarian. They also the parents of Shula Nazarian, who earlier this year curated a remarkable exhibition of contemporary art work from Iranian American Jewish artists at USC’s Hillel. The art work of Mrs. Soraya Nazarian was featured in her daughter’s exhibition and in recent years she has also gifted many of her sculptures to Israeli universities, including the University of Haifa.

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September 27, 2010 | 3:08 pm

Iranian Jewish banker Namvar arraigned on federal fraud charges

Posted by Karmel Melamed

Earlier today Brentwood Iranian Jewish banker and real estate investor Ezri Namvar was arrainged in U.S. District court in downtown L.A. after being indicted last week by a federal grand jury on five counts of fraud in failing to return $23 million in funds client’s of his Namco Financial Exchange Corp. (NFE) had given him for safekeeping before it was reinvested in real estate.

The indictment filed in U.S. District Court also includes five counts of fraud brought against NFE’s controller 62-year-old Hamid Tabatabai, alleging that both he and Namvar carried out a scheme from March 2008 to August 2008 that defraud five of NFE’s clients of their 1031 funds. According to U.S. federal tax codes, 1031 funds are profits real estate investors have earned on the sale of property where capital gains taxes will be deferred during a set time frame provided the funds are given to a qualified third party and then used to purchase a replacement property.

Namvar’s indictment alleges that he only returned $4 million of the $27 million NFE’s client’s had given his company in their 1031 funds for safekeeping and these funds were used by Namvar without their authorization for various purposes unrelated to the clients. The indictment also alleges that Namvar with the help of Tabatabai used NFE’s clients’ funds to pay off creditors and investors of Namvar’s investment company, Namco Capital Group Inc. or Namvar’s own personal creditors.

Tabatabai surrendered to the F.B.I. and was arraigned on September 23rd at downtown L.A.’s U.S. District Court. Namvar surrendered to the F.B.I. before his arraignment today in the same court. Both men face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for each count of fraud if convicted.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in downtown L.A. and Namvar’s attorney did not return calls for comment on the case. Yet A. David Youssefyeh, a Century City Iranian Jewish attorney representing some of Namvar’s Iranian Jewish creditors in other civil cases against Namvar, said his clients and other creditors who lost their life savings in Namvar’s other alleged ponzi schemes have expressed satisfaction with the charges brought against Namvar.

“For two years Mr. Namvar has been lounging around in his mansion in Brentwood while they (creditors) have had to pickup what is left of their finances to try to squeeze out a living—for quite a few that has meant being evicted from their home,” said Youssefyeh. “Although the indictment can’t put their lives back together, at least his victims know that Mr. Namvar will not be able to walk away without any consequence to him either”.

Namvar was forced into involuntary bankruptcy in December 2008 and accused by investors of creating a Ponzi scheme that lost as much as $500 million that had been loaned to him — most of it by Los Angeles’ Iranian Jews. The petition followed 17 lawsuits filed against Namvar, Namco, entities owned by Namvar and other Namvar family members alleging breach of contract and contractual fraud in a case that attorneys estimate involves 300 to 400 creditors, the majority of whom are Iranian Jews.

The creditors include investors in Namco Capital Group, those who lent money to Namco and received a personal guarantee from Namvar, lenders to Namco who received a lien on property owed by Namvar or one his entities and those who gave profits from their real estate transactions (1031 funds) to Namvar, according to the lawsuits.

A report released earlier this year by the trustees in Namvar’s bankruptcy case showed that Namco owes more than $500 million to more than 170 secured and unsecured creditors. The report also states that Namco is owed more than $600 million from loans it made to 16 members of Namvar’s family, various limited liability corporations owned by Namvar and to more than 60 individuals and entities. In addition, the report indicates that Namvar gave himself a loan of more than $32 million, and he also gave $50 million to each of his four children.
Many of Namvar’s Iranian Jewish creditors are low- to middle-income couples, individuals or retired seniors who invested their small savings with Namvar and his company, hoping to receive higher interest rates than what most banks were offering at the time. Their investments ranged anywhere from $10,000 to $300,000, and most said they had lost all hope of regaining their funds.

Separately, another investment scandal hit the Iranian Jewish community in early January of this year, when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against John Farahi, 52, a popular Iranian Jewish radio talk show host who also served as an investment adviser and stockbroker for local Iranian Jews. The suit alleges that Farahi and his Beverly Hills firm, NewPoint Financial Services Inc., defrauded Iranian American investors of millions of dollars and that Farahi, his company, his wife, Gissou Rastegar Farahi, and the firm’s controller, Elaheh Amouei, misled investors by telling them their funds were being invested in unsecured corporate bonds, FDIC-insured certificates of deposit, government bonds, and corporate bonds issued by companies backed by funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The complaint against Farahi alleges that investors’ money was transferred into personal accounts controlled by Farahi and his wife to build their mansion in Beverly Hills, as well as into risky stock market options that resulted in more than $18 million in losses for investors.

A third alleged Ponzi scheme that rocked the local Iranian Jewish community came to light this year when lawsuits were brought against Joseph Boodaie, also a Beverly Hills Iranian Jewish businessman who lent money and offered community members higher rates of return on their savings than most banks. Last year, nearly a dozen different lawsuits were filed by various L.A.-area Iranian Jews and other businesses alleging that Boodaie had defrauded them of a combined total of close to $100 million, according to one local attorney.

Amidst mounting pressure from local Iranian Jews and the board of the Nessah Synagogue in Beverly Hills, Namvar quit his position of the synagogue’s board this past April. Nessah’s board and the West Hollywood based Iranian American Jewish Federation did not return calls for comment on Namvar’s indictment.

My past stories regarding Namvar can be found here and here.

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