Magazine
Advocating for Israel was once unthinkable for Mehrdad Moattari.
Born and raised in Iran, Mehrdad learned early that expressing favorable views toward Jewish people or the Jewish State could carry real consequences. At school and on the radio, the messaging was clear—and hostile.
He was 15 when he immigrated to the United States with his family, and the contrast in his new home was eye-opening. For the first time, he saw how falsely Jews and Israel had been portrayed to him in Iran.
At California Polytechnic State University, he became a vocal Israel advocate, and that connection deepened through his participation in Jewish National Fund-USA’s Caravan for Democracy, a fully subsidized 10-day educational program that brings non-Jewish student leaders to Israel.
One moment in particular stayed with him: hearing the Muslim call to prayer. “I thought I was hallucinating,” he recalls. “I couldn’t believe I was hearing Muslim prayers in the Jewish State.”
For Mehrdad, it was a powerful expression of coexistence rarely reflected in the media.
Mehrdad returned from the trip with a renewed commitment to Israel advocacy. After graduating, he connected with a representative from Jewish National Fund-USA’s JNFuture, the organization’s community of young philanthropists ages 22 -40, and immediately became involved.
Now a data scientist and JNFuture living in San Diego, Mehrdad continues that commitment today. In the winter of 2026, Mehrdad will step into a remarkable leadership role as co-chair of a JNFuture trip to Israel. Even amid a war involving the country he once fled, he is helping expose others to the firsthand experiences that shaped his own understanding.
Misinformation about Israel often starts on school grounds, giving educators a critical role in countering those narratives. That is why Kenneth C.C. Yang joined Jewish National Fund- USA’s Faculty Fellowship—a fully subsidized academic fellowship that invites non-Jewish university and college faculty members to experience Israel firsthand.
Kenneth C.C. Yang, right, with a colleague during a visit to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
A tenured professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Texas at El Paso, Kenneth researches how narratives are shaped and how bias influences public perception, with support from the Aaron and Sylvia Wechter Family Excellence Fund. Those ideas took on new meaning during his trip to Israel, where he engaged with institutions like the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem.
“There’s only so much you can understand from a screen,” he says.
Back in his classroom, Kenneth draws on those experiences to encourage students to question sources and examine media narratives more critically.
Together, Mehrdad’s and Kenneth’s stories reflect a broader shift. At a time when conversations about Israel are often defined by division, Jewish National Fund-USA is cultivating a wider, more diverse ecosystem of advocates through Caravan for Democracy and Faculty Fellowship—strengthening connections to Israel and preparing a broader community of leaders to speak with clarity, conviction, and purpose.
Learn more about Caravan for Democracy at jnf.org/caravan
Learn more about Faculty Fellowship at jnf.org/ffil
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