Tova Moradi

Moradi was born and raised in Kabul alongside nine siblings. At the age of sixteen, she eloped with a Muslim man, although she did not convert to Islam. Moradi retained a few Jewish traditions and her neighbors were well aware of her religion.[6]

As a non-Muslim, Moradi attempted to keep a low profile during the first period of Taliban rule (1996-2001). She was acquainted with Rabbi Ishaq Levi, another one of Afghanistan's last Jews, once risking her life by hiding him from the Taliban.[1]

Moradi's parents and siblings left Afghanistan in the 1960s and 1980s. Despite her elopement, she maintained contact with a few members of her family. Her parents are buried at Jerusalem’s Har HaMenuchot Cemetery, and a few of her surviving siblings live in Israel, many of whom she hasn't spoken to for decades.[1]

Four of her children moved to Canada in the 1990s when the Taliban first seized power.

When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, Moradi and her family feared for their lives. After relatives in Canada alerted businessman Joseph Friedberg, a venture to extract the family from the country was coordinated by IsraAid, Afghan and Israeli diplomats abroad, as well as multiple Jewish philanthropists including billionaires Alexander Mashkevich and Sylvan Adams. The family were able to flee Afghanistan in the end of October, ending up in the Albanian town of Golem. Moradi hopes to reunite with her children living in Canada.[6]