Liz Hirsh Naftali, the Los Angeles-based commercial real estate investor and philanthropist, has played a prominent role in recent weeks as an advocate for the release of her great-niece, who is being held hostage by Hamas, and others who are still being held captive. .
The high-profile Democratic donor, who was also in the spotlight as House Republicans investigated Hunter Biden, also launched a new podcast.
After organizing many fundraisers, she came up with a new idea: a podcast that would help “democratize our politicians”, with the latest episode of The Capitol Coffee Connection with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“My goal was to make sure that you can find out who they are without paying and that you can be in your home or wherever and learn more about all these leaders,” Naftali told Deadline.
She added: “What happened was that when I did these events, whoever was the leader or whoever was running for election, he or she or they would give their short speech for 10 or 15 minutes and then all the questions that have been answered come up. public. And then it would be over and… there would be no chance of finding out who they were.
The discussions included guests such as Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), who spoke about her love for hip-hop, and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), who remembered learning English through comic books as a child. On the show, Oklahoma City’s Republican mayor, David Holt, talked about his Osage Nation heritage and his appearance at Shakespeare in the Park.
The one-on-one interviews may not be news in the hectic political cycle, but Naftali said that wasn’t the point. Fundraising Q&As can often be a platform for donors to express their own opinions (or showcase their own knowledge), but Naftali recalls times when she tried to steer the conversation elsewhere. She referred to an event with Karen Bass, now mayor of Los Angeles.
Naftali said she asked Bass questions like, “What does she like, what kind of high school did she go to and what were her parents like and things like that.” And people at the end said, “Thank you very much.” really learned who she is. ”
Stampede Ventures produces the series through its podcasting division. In the Pelosi episode, she talks about raising her children and grandchildren and her favorite chocolate mousse recipe.
The chats “are more of a conversation than just asking random questions,” she said. “As I do that, I really try to listen and ask them to contribute more and more, which I think is difficult for leaders because there is so much judgment and so much negative energy. So my goal and our goal with this podcast is to really provide positive energy and let people know who leaders are.
Naftali is currently in Israel, where she is campaigning for the release of hostages that Hamas has been holding since the October 7 terrorist attacks in Gaza. In numerous media appearances, Naftali has spoken about her own second cousin, four-year-old Abigail Mor Eden. Hamas terrorists killed both her parents, Naftali’s cousin and her husband, and Abigail crawled out from under her father’s corpse and then went to a neighbor’s house, where she was later taken hostage. Abigail was held captive until November 26, when she was among the first group of hostages released by Hamas as part of an initial four-day ceasefire. “What she endured was unimaginable,” President Joe Biden said on the day of her release. Abigail’s two siblings locked themselves in a closet after witnessing their parents’ murder and survived.
In the days that followed, Naftali began lobbying on Capitol Hill and in other cities for the release of her great-niece and other hostages, eventually joining other families where relatives were being held.
“We’ve met people on both sides of the aisle,” she said, including Republicans like Steve Scalise, Marco Rubio and Susan Collins and far-left lawmakers like Jamaal Bowman and Summer Lee, as well as members of the House and Senate Foreign Relations Relations Committee. Committees.
“They were basically opportunities for people to tell their family stories, what happened that day and who their hostages were,” she said, adding that they then appeared more often in the press, “so we just kept the pressure .”
“We didn’t receive any information, and we thought it would benefit the American audience, the international audience and the Israelis to really tell their story as one of the main stories because it’s so unique to have a small story.” . who were orphaned and kidnapped and so horrible and terrible,” she said.
Abigail, who celebrated her fourth birthday in detention, is reunited with her siblings. “Her only hope was to get her sister back,” Naftali said. “Despite all the tragedy, the only bright light is that Abigail came home to them – not her home. Her house was destroyed. But came back to the family. Once again the family was destroyed when mother and father were killed. But they have this beautiful aunt and uncle they are going to live with. They have an incredible extended family, wonderful grandparents… It’s tragic, it’s terrible, but that’s the miracle here. That is the hope.”
Naftali said that in the midst of the tragedy in her family, she felt “empowered” to take on the role of public advocate for the hostages. “I realized that if we could save Abigail and hostages, we could at least bring back the families of the people who lost so much,” she said.
More than 130 hostages are still missing, she said, “which means we know they were kidnapped. We don’t know anything about them.” Among other things, they advocate that the Red Cross visit the hostages and report to them.
After the October 7 Hamas attack, pro-Palestinian protests against Israel’s response erupted across the United States, dividing Democrats and further polarizing political discourse.
But Naftali said she and other hostage families “don’t talk about what politics is, what a country should do or what leaders should do.” We are really only talking about the humanity of bringing these people to their homes to bring loved ones. In that sense, I think it’s really about sharing with the world and putting pressure on the international world, the UN and the leaders, but understanding what happened that day. Because if we don’t talk about what happened, people [tend] ignore it and don’t understand the seriousness of the three thousand terrorists who came in and then killed people and then kidnapped.”
Before October 7, Naftali was also in the public eye as part of House Oversight Committee Chairman Hunter Biden’s investigation by James Comer (R-KY), a possible prelude to impeachment proceedings against the president. Comer issued a subpoena for her testimony last month after the committee identified her as the buyer of at least one of the younger Biden’s artworks. Comer said Naftali’s role in the purchase and her position on President Joe Biden’s commission to preserve America’s heritage abroad “are of concern to the committee.”
Naftali said: “I fully cooperated with everything they asked of me, and what is public is public. But it remains true that there is actually nothing there.” She said while advocating for the release of the hostages on Capitol Hill, “not one person” asked about the purchase of Hunter Biden artwork.
“What I mean to say is that I’ve met great leaders on both sides,” she said. “…The level of support for the hostage crisis and the support for these families is amazing and that’s the focus.”
Source: Deadline
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
