Frank Tzarfati, a 48-year-old businessman, immigrated to Israel with his family a year ago and opened Pokeshop, a Hawaiian-style restaurant in Tel Aviv.
Tzarfati was born in France and moved to Los Angeles 15 years ago “because of the Muslims and the anti-Semitism.”
In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Tzarfati said that “it wasn’t easy to live in Paris with all the anti-Semitism. My biggest mistake was that I didn’t come to Israel. I didn’t have enough faith, and I was worried about how I would make a livelihood. We moved to Los Angeles, because my wife has a sister there.”
So – Why did Tzarfati come to Israel last year?
“Slowly I saw my sons becoming less religious, and I was worried about assimilation,” he explains. “In the United States, everything is permissible. It’s totally acceptable for Jews to marry non-Jews. So we decided as a family to move to Israel. One of my sons has already been drafted into the IDF, and the second one is about to enlist.”
“Whenever I came to Israel for a vacation, I would always go to Tel Aviv or to Eilat. Suddenly I’m a citizen here, and I’m really happy. I cry every day for not coming sooner.”
Tzarfati also spoke about his restaurant in the center of Tel Aviv.
“Pokeshop is Hawaiian food, and the menu is based on rice and chopped raw fish, with a lot of fresh vegetables. There’s a lot of variety, and it’s all based on proteins which cleanse your body of poisons,” he said.
“Even though I’m smack in the middle of Tel Aviv, I never had a moment’s doubt about whether my restaurant would be kosher. It’s illogical that in a country of Jews, someone would open a non-kosher restaurant.”