New Yorkers with ties to Israel and Iran concerned about escalating Middle East conflict
NEW YORK -- Many New Yorkers fear more fallout from escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.
Moji Pourmoradi was just a baby when her family fled Iran in the 1970s and settled in Nassau County. Decades later, she wasn't surprised to see the country fire more than 300 aerial weapons at Israel.
Today, Pourmoradi serves as executive director of the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County.
"It's triggering in many ways, but we are Jewish and our homeland is no longer Iran. They made it very clear to us that we weren't safe there," said Pourmoradi.
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, left Iran with his family at age 4 to escape political repression.
He believes Israel should accept its interception of missiles as a win, and the U.S. should urge the country not to fight back.
"What we need right now is deescalation on all fronts, including in Gaza, which is one of the driving forces of this conflict," said Parsi.
Israel and the U.S. have long accused Iran of funding terrorist organizations and armed proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Yehudit Barsky researches terrorist organizations' relationship to Iran for the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism.
"An overall strategy of encircling Israel," said Barsky. "We've seen over the last several years the women's movement, the protests against the regime."
For now, there's extra police outside Jewish institutions as all pray for a peaceful future.