Deni Avdija and Kyle Kuzma Celebrate at Nakash–Weber Wedding in New York
Hundreds packed a Manhattan ballroom Tuesday night for the wedding of Ralph Nakash and Yael Weber. Deni Avdija led Kyle Kuzma in Anachnu Maaminim. Omer Adam performed. Omer Shem Tov, returned from Gaza captivity, danced. A signal as much as a celebration.
The groom is the grandson of Raphael "Rafi" Nakash, the Israeli-American billionaire who co-founded Jordache alongside his brothers Joseph and Avraham. The third generation. Carrying the same name.
It was, by every measure, a private family wedding. By morning it had become a story in every major Hebrew outlet — Israel Hayom, Walla, and others — and a viral moment across the Jewish internet. In English-language media, this is among the only original written accounts of the night.
Who was in the room
Deni Avdija, the Israeli star of the Portland Trail Blazers, fresh off a breakthrough season averaging 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game. Kyle Kuzma, his former Washington Wizards teammate, now of the Milwaukee Bucks. Matan Siman Tov, Avdija's agent. Omer Shem Tov, the released hostage freed from Gaza captivity in February 2025. Omer Adam — Israel's biggest pop singer — performed live.
Hundreds of guests from across the New York Syrian-Jewish business community, Israeli ex-pat circles, and the family's wider network filled the room.
The Anachnu Maaminim moment
The moment that made the wedding go global came midway through the night.
Avdija pulled the crowd into a circle and led them in Anachnu Maaminim B'nei Maaminim — "We are believers, children of believers, and we have no one to rely on but our Father in heaven." A song of faith that has run through Jewish prayer and Israeli popular culture for generations, surging again as a kind of communal anthem since October 7.
Kuzma — an NBA forward, not Jewish — was singing along, learning the words from Avdija in real time. The moment was captured on X by writer Max Mannis and spread quickly across the Jewish internet. Israel Hayom's Instagram clip cleared 147,000 views within hours.
It was the kind of moment Olam covers because it sits at the intersection of where this publication lives: business, identity, and the global Jewish moment.
The Nakash name
The Nakash family is one of the defining Syrian-Jewish business dynasties of the past half-century. Forbes has estimated the family fortune at roughly $2 billion.
Brothers Joseph, Raphael, and Avraham Nakash arrived in New York from Israel with effectively nothing — Joseph famously with $25 in 1962. They opened a small store in Brooklyn, then launched Jordache in 1978, building one of the most recognizable denim brands of the late twentieth century. What started as a Brooklyn storefront became an empire spanning fashion, hospitality, aviation, agriculture, and real estate.
Holdings have included Arkia Israel Airlines, the Setai hotel chain (with properties in Miami Beach, Tel Aviv, and the Galilee), the Orchid Hotels brand, Herbert Samuel restaurants, the former Versace Mansion in South Beach, a substantial stake in Jerusalem Economy Ltd., and the Prinir agriculture operation that supplies Heinz with tomato paste from Israel.
The wedding marked the third generation. Joseph, Ralph, and Avi built the brand. Their children — Shaul, David, Ariel, and Steven Nakash among them — extended it. Now the grandchildren are stepping into public view, beginning with a wedding that drew more attention than most family events ever do.
The political weather
The wedding took place in a New York with a new mayor.
Zohran Mamdani was inaugurated as the city's 111th mayor — and its first Muslim mayor — on January 1, 2026. On his first day in office, he rescinded a series of executive orders, including one that had defined anti-Zionist rhetoric as antisemitism. On May 15, eleven days before the Nakash wedding, his office posted an official Nakba Day video — drawing public condemnation from the UJA-Federation of New York and Jewish state assembly members.
A May poll found that 40% of Jewish NYC voters rate his performance "poor."
None of that was on the wedding agenda. None of it had to be. The room itself said something a press release couldn't.
Why the room mattered
Weddings inside the Syrian-Jewish business community are usually private, family-first, off-camera.
This one was not.
Avdija and Kuzma in the same frame. Omer Shem Tov, returned from Hamas captivity, dancing at a wedding. Omer Adam performing for a Nakash guest list. An NBA forward learning a Jewish prayer-song from the Israeli star standing next to him. A billionaire Syrian-Jewish family marking its third generation in plain view, in the city now run by a mayor who built his political brand on opposition to Israel.
It captured something larger than a wedding.
The distance between Tel Aviv, New York, Miami, and Deal keeps narrowing. Business, faith, entertainment, sports, and Israeli identity now move in the same circles — and sometimes on the same dance floor.
The Nakash–Weber wedding was private.
The signal it sent was not.
Quick answers
Which NBA players attended the Nakash–Weber wedding? Deni Avdija of the Portland Trail Blazers and Kyle Kuzma, his former Washington Wizards teammate, both attended the wedding of Ralph Nakash and Yael Weber in Manhattan in May 2026.
What song did Deni Avdija lead at the wedding? Avdija led the crowd in Anachnu Maaminim B'nei Maaminim — "We are believers, children of believers" — and taught the words to Kyle Kuzma in real time on the dance floor.
Who are the Nakash family? The Nakash family is a Syrian-Jewish business dynasty that co-founded the denim brand Jordache in 1978. Forbes has estimated the family fortune at roughly $2 billion. The groom, Ralph Nakash, is the grandson of co-founder Raphael "Rafi" Nakash.
Who performed at the Nakash wedding? Israeli pop star Omer Adam performed live. Released hostage Omer Shem Tov, freed from Gaza captivity in February 2025, was among the guests.
When and where was the wedding? It was held on a Tuesday night in May 2026 in a Manhattan ballroom in New York City.
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