Jonathan York's story stretches across three continents.
The Los Angeles–based multidisciplinary artist, lawyer, and filmmaker is an Iranian, American, Israeli Jew — a complex identity that shapes his life and art. His family's journey reflects the larger Jewish story: exile, survival, and renewal.
"My mom's family largely moved to Israel when they fled the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Her immediate family came to America. My dad moved to New York City, and that's where I got my last name," York explained on a recent ILTV Podcast. "They met in synagogue on Yom Kippur in the valley in Los Angeles. And I still have family members in Tehran… My grandfather was actually the chief rabbi of Isfahan, and for many generations, they were rabbis of significance in Isfahan."
York said it was "ironic and strange and weird" to be texting relatives in Tehran, Israel, and the U.S. simultaneously while the war with Iran was raging over the summer.
"You always have to be mindful that there may be somebody reading those messages or listening to the phone call," he noted.
Today, Isfahan is most often associated with a nuclear facility.
Watch these previous ILTV Podcasts:
That layered awareness — of family, history, and politics — bleeds into York's art.
"I would say when I went to college was the first time that it occurred to me that being an Iranian American, Israeli Jew actually was pointed out, that there is this oxymoron component to it," he said. "But my life is, in other ways, also a contrast. I'm an artist and an attorney, and I have to live in this tug of war between my left and right brain every day. My art exists at those moments of friction between these different identities."
For York, Israel is where Jewish diversity collides most vividly.
"Israel is the place where it all hits you in the face at the same time, and you can't avoid it because you hear accents from 19 different places on the same bus," he said.
He also addressed the rising tide of antisemitism targeting Israeli artists abroad.
"The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra … has been shut out of concert halls all across Europe, and this is a world-class orchestra that people forget is made up of individual human beings," York said. "These are people I know and have coffee with and see them take their kids to school. Part of what I intend to do over the next period of time is help bring some of those stories to light."
Ultimately, York's message is one of perseverance. He has been to Israel five times since October 7, 2023, and said he sees "the constant common thread was people who stepped up to the plate and people who did extraordinary things before, during and after that very dark day."
He added, "I think that's who we are as a people. We're a people that persevere… We find light and we continue to grow."
Watch the full podcast:
PODCAST WITH JONATHAN YORK
(ILTV)
