She mingles with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, attends events at the United Nations and raises millions of dollars for organizations in Israel. Natalie Hister Ostad, a former model, explains how she became a leading philanthropic activist in New York’s Israeli community and why her phone is connected to Israel’s Home Front Command alerts.
On the day Operation Roaring Lion began, Hister Ostad’s phone buzzed nonstop with alerts from Israel’s Home Front Command. Despite living in New York for the past 14 years, she remains connected to the app used across Israel.
“It’s important for me to stay updated even if I don’t live in Israel,” she said. “I immediately checked my phone to understand what was happening. Physically, I’m not there, but I’m always connected to what’s going on.”
Just days earlier, she had attended an event for the rehabilitation of Kibbutz Be’eri, where Eli Sharabi spoke. “A few hours later, Eli and his brother Sharon came to my home for coffee. Eden Hason, who was performing in the city, joined us as well,” she said.
Shortly afterward, she traveled to Paris Fashion Week.
“I thought about canceling, because how can I be in Paris while my family and friends are in safe rooms in Israel? It’s difficult, but I decided not to change plans. Continuing routine is also a kind of statement. I had personal invitations, including to a show by Israeli designer Kobi Halperin, who is a source of pride.”
She said it felt strange to be in Paris while Israel was at war.
“A few weeks before the war, I was invited to the International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at the United Nations,” she said. “The invitation came from Israel’s ambassador, Danny Danon. It marked another stage in the process of becoming, over the past five years, an unofficial ambassador for Israel.”
“I never imagined I’d be in this position,” she added. “My family is very Zionist. My father served in the Armored Corps, and contributing to the country was part of our values, but I didn’t know I would become a kind of ambassador.”
Asked how it happened, she said: “As an Israeli living in New York within the American Jewish community, I felt I had to use my Israeli identity to do something good for the country. When you’re there, you feel it’s your responsibility. And if I have the opportunity, including financially, of course, I’ll take it.”
Hister Ostad, 39, was born in Haifa and moved with her family to Kfar Vradim at age 9. She moved to New York at 25 after a brief modeling career and law studies, having already worked as a real estate lawyer in Israel. She joined a real estate firm marketing major projects in the city.
In 2014, at a Rosh Hashanah dinner with Israeli friends, she met American Jewish businessman Ed Ostad and his brother, owners of a successful real estate company. Weeks later, they met again by chance in the city.
“The next day, I called my friend Elinor Kopler and asked, ‘What do you think about me going on a date with Ed?’ She said, ‘It’s a good idea.’ We started dating, and within two months it became very serious.”
After three years, they married. They have two children, Rafael, 7, and Lia, 5. They live in a tower on Fifth Avenue and maintain an apartment in Tel Aviv, where they spend time during frequent visits.
After becoming a mother, she said she reduced her workload as a lawyer.
“I used to work long hours. After Rafael was born, I slowed down. I still work in real estate, but at a lower intensity, because philanthropy takes up much of my time.”
Since her marriage, Hister Ostad has been active in numerous pro-Israel organizations, a major supporter of United Hatzalah and host of fundraising events in her home since the start of the war following October 7.
Through these efforts, she met Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump. Their children attend the same Jewish school. The rabbi who converted Ivanka Trump is also her husband’s rabbi.
“From the beginning, I told Ed that Israel would be part of our lives,” she said. “I told him, ‘I want to live between the two places,’ and he agreed. He loves Israel and always says, ‘When I die, bury me in Israel.’”
On October 7, the family was actually living in Israel.
“A year and a half earlier, I decided I had to teach my children Hebrew, and that wouldn’t happen in New York. I told my husband, ‘Let’s move to Israel for two or three years,’ and we did. On September 1, 2023, the kids started their second year in kindergarten.”
A week before October 7, she and her husband flew to New York, leaving the children with her parents.
“My father called and said there were rockets. That same evening we put the children on a flight with my mother, the last one out of Israel before Ben Gurion Airport closed,” she said.
The next day, she contacted United Hatzalah.
“I asked what was needed to save as many lives as possible. They told me, ‘Natalie, do what you can.’”
Ten days into the war, she organized a fundraising event at her home for about 50 Jewish business leaders, relatives and friends.
“Everyone in the Jewish community understood something had to be done and that Israel was in an emergency,” she said. “I sat with my phone and got to work. That event raised about $2 million for United Hatzalah.”
She now serves on the organization’s board. At its annual gala in October 2025, which raised $10 million, she met Steve Witkoff. Together with United Hatzalah founder Eli Beer, she helped arrange an on-stage meeting between Witkoff and Eli Sharabi.
She is also close with Witkoff’s son, Alex.
“Our connection started at a pre-gala event hosted by Howard Lutnick, the U.S. secretary of commerce,” she said. “Last year, the pre-gala was actually held at our home.”
Before the war with Iran, she visited Israel and took part in the fashion shoot accompanying this interview.
“Modeling opened doors for me,” she said. “I’m grateful for that time. I love fashion, and that connection remains.”
Today, her focus is philanthropy.
“I live this work every day. It’s part of my life,” she said. “I help organizations like Friends of the IDF and stay in close contact with the Israeli consulate in New York. I’m now recognized as someone with influence in the Jewish community, and I want to use that as much as possible to help.”
She added: “I call on young American Jews to join me.”