Elliot Nazar recently joined Passages on a Winter 2025–2026 trip to Israel, and for him, the experience was more than educational. It was deeply personal.
Originally from California, Elliot moved to Washington, D.C. in 2023 to pursue a master's degree in security studies at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service. During his studies, he stepped into the world he hopes to shape, interning for organizations including The Heritage Foundation, United Against Nuclear Iran, the Institute for the Study of War, and the Critical Threats Project, before later serving as a Junior Fellow at the Middle East Forum. From an early age, Elliot felt drawn to international relations and the study of terrorism and security. As the son of a Russian mother and a Persian Jewish father, Elliot's interest in the Middle East has never been theoretical. It has always been tied to identity, history, and a desire to understand the forces shaping the world.
In recent years, Elliot has watched with growing alarm as antisemitism has surged on college campuses and online. He noted that it isn't confined to one side of the political spectrum, and he has been especially troubled to see antisemitic ideas begin to creep into some Christian spaces as well. In that context, Elliot believes the work of Passages, and other organizations committed to truth, solidarity, and relationships, is more urgent than ever. He sees this rising generation as essential to the fight: the next wave of leaders who will stand up for Israel and confront antisemitism wherever it appears.
For Elliot, the past two years have been marked by an unusual tension: studying the Islamic Republic of Iran and its terror proxy network through a counterterrorism lens while also watching antisemitism spread rapidly through viral images and videos online. That reality made traveling to Israel especially powerful. He described the trip as incredible and deeply impactful, one that brought both history and current events into sharp focus.
His visits to Yad Vashem and to Israel's south, especially the kibbutzim and the Nova festival site, were sobering and unforgettable. Standing in those places offered him a stark picture of devastation, both historical and modern.
But what stayed with him just as strongly was what he witnessed alongside the grief: resilience.
Elliot was moved by the everyday strength of Israeli life: families celebrating Shabbat, investing in their children, and choosing joy and faith even after years marked by war and loss. That determination to live, to build, and to hope left a lasting imprint. Today, Elliot remains committed to research and education, helping others better understand the Middle East and Israel's unique role as a strong military power in an unstable region. His story is a powerful reminder of why Passages matters. When young leaders experience Israel firsthand, they don't return unchanged. They return equipped, motivated, and ready to stand for truth in a world that desperately needs it.
