“I live in Beverly Hills, but my heart is always in Israel,” says Dora Kadisha Nazarian, a Jewish businesswoman and philanthropist who was born and raised in Iran.
We speak over Zoom in the morning for me, near midnight for her. “If there’s a siren, I’ll disconnect and return once I’m out of the safe room,” I tell her.
“Of course,” she replies. “I’ll know when it happens. I’m constantly connected to alert apps. From afar, I go through what you’re going through.”
Nazarian visits Israel frequently.
“I returned to the U.S. on October 6, 2023, for the holiday, the day before the terrible war began,” she says. “As soon as flights resumed, I came back and immediately traveled to the Gaza border area. I was also in Israel during the previous war with Iran in June, and now I’m just waiting for the chance to come again.”
Nazarian, a mother of three and grandmother of nine, fled Iran at age 17 during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. She is the daughter of Izak Parviz Nazarian, an Israeli-American businessman who was once considered the wealthiest Iranian Jew in the world.
Much of the Nazarian family, one of the most prominent and affluent Iranian Jewish families in Los Angeles, lives in Beverly Hills, where about 8,000 Jews of Iranian origin reside. The community is known for its strong support for Israel and its influence on the city and the broader Los Angeles area.
One example came last year, when Sharona Nazarian, who also fled Iran after the revolution, was elected mayor of Beverly Hills, becoming the first Iranian-born Jewish mayor in U.S. history.
“She’s married to my cousin,” Nazarian says proudly. “Before her, in 2007, Jimmy Delshad became the city’s first Persian Jewish mayor.”
Members of the Iranian Jewish community in Los Angeles, particularly in Beverly Hills, are known for their success and wealth.
“Tah-rangeles,” as it’s called, is an incredible and successful community,” she says. “It comes from hard work and strong adherence to values like family, community and honesty.”
Many Persian immigrants, including doctors and lawyers who fled Iran abruptly, lacked documentation or struggled with language barriers that prevented them from working in their professions.
“They worked other jobs, like shopkeepers, but made sure their children received private education and university degrees,” she says. “Today we have entrepreneurs, lawyers and doctors, and we still preserve family unity and Jewish traditions.”
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Sharona Nazarian, elected mayor of Beverly Hills, becoming the first Iranian-born Jewish mayor in US history
(Photo: Takpro@)
'My name is still on an execution list'
Nazarian recalls a childhood in Iran that was calm until 1978, when unrest began.
“My father sent my mother and my two younger brothers to Israel. Later, he sent my sister, and only he and I remained,” she says. “I remember the curfews, the tanks in the streets.”
When they realized the danger, they packed a single suitcase and left.
“The night before we left, I opened our safe. I don’t even know how I knew the code. I took all the documents. In the end, that’s what saved us.”
Her father later returned to Iran to help Israelis still there leave the country. Her parents were nearly prevented from leaving themselves.
“By chance, the official who had the list of businessmen trying to leave Tehran recognized my father,” she says. “Years earlier, my father had helped him financially. That’s what allowed my parents to escape. A week later, our entire family was placed on an execution list. My name is still on it today.”
Memories, loss and identity
“I do feel nostalgia, and I’m still in contact with people there,” she says. “But the Iranian people today are not the same people I grew up with. Even the language has changed.”
She often returns to her father’s story. Orphaned at a young age, he began working at 12 to support his family, later immigrated to Israel, fought in the War of Independence and eventually became one of the founders and early investors in Qualcomm.
After moving to Los Angeles, his business success grew into a fortune. The family’s holdings in Qualcomm are estimated at about $2.5 billion. Today, the family focuses on venture capital, real estate and technology investments.
Following his death in 2017, the second generation continued his path. Dora Nazarian leads the family’s philanthropic work, focused on strengthening Israeli society and ties with the Jewish diaspora.
Her efforts center on two main initiatives: the Los Angeles-based philanthropic fund supporting education, public policy and scholarships, and the Center for the Empowerment of Citizens in Israel (CECI), a nonpartisan organization established in 2003 to improve government efficiency.
“We don’t just send checks and ask for buildings to be named after us,” she says. “I spend a lot of time in Israel, understand where people are struggling and work directly with government ministries. Every dollar goes to a real need.”
Since October 7, the foundation has provided about NIS 10 million in direct aid to families affected by the war, including bereaved families, wounded soldiers, hostages’ families and evacuees.
She recounts helping Maj. Yonatan Armoni, who was severely wounded in Gaza in January 2024.
“We flew in one of the world’s top orthopedic surgeons from Los Angeles to treat him,” she says, her voice breaking. “His recovery has been incredible.”
War, Iran and the future
Asked about the current war, Nazarian speaks bluntly.
“What is happening today should have happened years ago,” she says. “The Iranian people are kind and reserved. They don’t show anger. For 47 years, the regime has controlled them while they suffer.”
She describes abuses that she says are largely ignored internationally.
“Students are thrown from buildings, nurses are assaulted, tens of thousands have been killed, and the world stays silent.”
In her view, Americans hesitate to speak out.
“They feel that if they talk about what’s happening in Iran, it will strengthen Trump and justify the war, so they remain silent. Even human rights organizations are quiet for the same reason.”
Despite the cost of war, she believes it is necessary.
“It’s ugly and painful, but we have no choice, not just for Israel but for global peace. I hope the regime changes and that we see freedom, democracy and peace in the Middle East.”
On freedom and responsibility
As Passover approaches, Nazarian reflects on the meaning of freedom.
“Freedom isn’t given on a silver platter,” she says. “You have to fight for it. As Jews, and especially in Israel, we can’t sleep with both eyes closed. No one protects us but ourselves.”
On women, she adds: “Women are like octopuses. We manage everything, family, business, leadership. We bring balance through sensitivity and intuition. That’s why more women are rising to positions of influence, and that will only grow.”