Ofer Yannay, founder and CEO of Nofar Energy and owner of Hapoel Tel Aviv Basketball Club, participated today in the Jerusalem Post Conference in New York.
Speaking with Jerusalem Post diplomatic correspondent Amichai Stein, Yannay discussed the growth of his energy company over the past year, Hapoel Tel Aviv’s progress, and his views on the rising tide of antisemitism around the world.
Yannay spoke about a recent deal led by Nofar Energy and the company’s rapid growth over the past year. “Recently, we entered the first AI project in Israel. It’s a tremendous opportunity. That’s where the industry is heading, and once again we are pioneers, just as we were with other opportunities in the past. The company tripled its value over the past year. That required stepping outside our comfort zone and making decisions that were unconventional and outside the box.”
Yannay also addressed Hapoel Tel Aviv Basketball Club, which he owns, following a successful EuroLeague season. Beyond the sporting achievements, he spoke about the broader diplomatic and Jewish dimensions of representing Israel abroad.
“Most of the time, you don’t experience antisemitism in Europe in a loud or obvious way,” he said. “Unfortunately, I had the opportunity to experience it firsthand. We were at a game in Europe, and one of the opposing team’s fans, who was sitting courtside - these are very expensive seats, so this was a well-off individual - started shouting insults and then shoved me hard. When I asked him what was wrong, he called me a f***ing Jew.’ I decided to deal with it.”
Yannay continued: “His season ticket was immediately revoked for life, but that wasn’t enough for me. I decided that from now on, we would place the Israeli flag on the team’s jerseys so that everyone would see and recognize us as an Israeli team.”
According to Yannay, “Most people think the answer to antisemitism is to appease those who hate us. I have a completely different approach - I don’t want to please anyone, and I don’t want to be loved. I want us to be respected, and I want people to fear us.”
This article was written in cooperation with Nofar Energy