At the heart of Channel 13’s docu-reality series, “The Americans,” are five Israelis living in Los Angeles. The production team interviewed dozens of candidates willing to open their lives to the cameras, ultimately selecting the following participants: Asaf Belcher, a veteran television producer whose credits include both Israeli and American productions such as music award shows, the Golden Globes and travel programs; influencer Lee Alon, who relocated to Los Angeles for love after following her husband, the father of her children; Sigal Byrnes, a longtime U.S. resident married to an American attorney in the music industry; Yakir Levy, a businessman, husband to Meital and father of three; and Moshe Hacmon, known in the United States as Moses Hacmon, who is married to influencer Trisha Paytas.
Although the series was filmed more than two and a half years ago, it premiered only in early December. The delay was due to several factors, most notably the events of October 7. Each episode opens with a note explaining the absence of any reference to the war.
“The Americans” follows the daily lives of the participants, capturing both intimate moments and unexpected interactions between people who had never met before. Camera crews arrived at their homes each morning and often stayed for hours, documenting conversations and private exchanges.
While such exposure can be intimidating, Yakir Levy, one of the series’ most prominent and dynamic figures, embraced the experience. Rather than retreating from the cameras, he welcomed them.
“I’ve let people into my life my whole life without fear,” Yakir said. “Since I was 17, I’ve been performing on stages and learned how to lift people’s spirits. I was born a star. Being on a big screen feels natural to me. I’ve always been a public person. I love being around people. I want to share my story with the world and inspire others like me.”
Yakir’s story unfolds gradually throughout the series. It is the story of a difficult childhood marked by poverty, the loss of his father at a very young age, and a mother who cleaned homes and offices to support four children on her own.
Today, Yakir is a successful businessman whose company employs 40 people. He is married to Meital and is the father of three children aged 11, 10 and three. He hopes his journey will inspire others who began life under similar circumstances, proving that determination and persistence can lead to success.
“I was born in a poor neighborhood in Ramla, and when I was three, we moved to Rishon LeZion,” Yakir said. “That was after my father died during the Lebanon War. My mother was just 28, with three children, a nine-year-old daughter, a seven-year-old daughter, a three-year-old son, and another baby on the way.
“I lost my father, but in a way I also lost my mother, because she was consumed with survival. She didn’t have time to kiss or hug me. I remember her cleaning the homes of wealthy people in Kikar HaMedina and the offices of diamond dealers and businesspeople from Israel and Europe.
“Since she couldn’t afford a babysitter, she brought me along. I would sit in those offices watching her scrub floors, and that’s when I decided I would get us out of this rat race.
“One of the people who had an office there, a Belgian diamond dealer named Monsieur Grant, used to tell me stories about cigars, horses, France and dreams. Those stories sparked something in me. I knew my life would be different.”
Yakir wasted no time trying to secure a better future. In first grade, he approached the owner of the neighborhood grocery store and offered to guard the daily delivery of Tnuva chocolate milk that arrived each morning before the store opened, in exchange for five shekels.
“I would wake up at five every morning, run to the grocery store, grab the crate of chocolate milk and hide it under the stairs in the building,” he said. “That’s how I started as an entrepreneur at a very young age.”
Because his mother could not afford after-school activities, Yakir found opportunities on his own. At 14, a neighbor named Chaim told him about a horse farm near Masubim Junction, where he could clean stables in exchange for an hour of horseback riding.
“We cleaned the stables from morning until night at Ezra’s farm,” Yakir said. “At the end of the day, I went up to him and held out my hand to thank him. Ezra was sitting with his friends and thought I was asking for money. He told me to get lost.
“I said, ‘I just want to thank you. I cleaned all day just to ride a horse, and it made my day.’”
Ezra, who had ties to the criminal underworld, was taken aback. He shook Yakir’s hand and told the others, “I like this kid.” He then added, “From now on, you won’t clean the stables. You’ll take care of the noble racehorses.”
“That’s how I earned my place through honesty and hard work,” Yakir said.
Growing up on the streets, Yakir could have easily taken a darker path. He said questionable figures tried to draw him in, but he always thought of his mother’s struggle and dignity.
“I watched her fight to put food on the table,” he said. “I promised myself I would take the long, honest road.”
At 22, Yakir traveled to the United States to visit his sister in New York. The trip introduced him to new performance opportunities. In Israel, he had already performed in clubs on HaMasger Street in Tel Aviv and in taverns in Rishon LeZion. At 21, he competed on the television show “The Next King,” finishing second with a performance of “Mah Lecha Yalda” by Zohar Argov.
The Israeli community abroad quickly embraced him. His earnings rose from 500 shekels per performance in Israel to $1,000 abroad, and at times, he said, as much as $15,000 a night. He continued performing professionally until the age of 32.
Eventually, Yakir stepped away from entertainment. “One night I could earn $1,000, and then have 1,000 nights without a dollar,” he said. By age 30, he wanted stability and a family.
He arrived in Los Angeles to film the series “Chai in La La Land” and quickly fell in love with the city. After selling his businesses in New York, he relocated permanently, performing briefly at Israeli clubs such as Sapir and Boca while launching a carpet-cleaning company.
In 2018, he expanded into water and fire damage restoration, founding 770 Water Damage & Restoration, named after the address of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Yakir has since handled hundreds of emergency cases involving floods, mold and fire damage. His clients have included Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tobey Maguire. Many of his employees are former prisoners, women escaping abusive relationships, or people recovering from addiction.
“I restore both homes and lives,” he said. “People who come from the lowest places often have the biggest hearts and the deepest loyalty.”
He recalled meeting a woman at a dog park who was struggling with addiction and abuse. “I brought her into my office and told the women working there to take her in,” he said. “Today, she’s my secretary.”
“None of my employees have ever betrayed me, sued me or faked an accident,” Yakir added. “I’ve never had to fire anyone.”
Yakir traces this worldview back to his childhood, particularly watching his mother repeatedly help his uncle battle addiction. Today, his uncle is married, a father of 10, and living a stable life.
One cast member expected to play a central role, Trisha Paytas, appears only in pixelated form after requesting to be removed from the series following the war. According to the production team and participants, she accused Israel of genocide and posted content allegedly supporting Hitler.
What initially annoyed Yakir, however, was Moses Hacmon’s American accent when speaking Hebrew.
“I asked him how long he’d been here. He said eight years, and I thought, why the accent?” Yakir said. “I realized he was hiding his Israeli identity.”
After his father’s death, Yakir’s mother later married Yehuda Moscona, his father’s best friend, who encouraged the family to move from Ramla to Rishon LeZion.
“I felt like the prince of Bel Air,” Yakir recalled. “I had to find my place in a world where everyone else came from stability.”
His mother remains proud, if cautious. “She worries about the evil eye,” Yakir said. “But I tell her, you can’t change your beginning. You can shape your ending.”
“God gave me the cards,” he said. “I had to learn how to play them.”