Son of Israeli Billionaire Goes Missing in Los Angeles
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Henri Zimand Hollywood hostel Israeli Consulate in LA Jewish Journal of L.A Jewish screenwriter Jewish Writer in LA Monaco Jews Monaco Zimand Syril Zimand USA Hostels
Hollywood sign. Photo: Wikipedia
An aspiring filmmaker, and son of Israeli billionaire Henri Zimand, has gone missing in Los Angeles.
According to the Jewish Journal of L.A., in early November, Syril Zimand, 28, an aspiring screenwriter, left Israel and came to Los Angeles with the goal of writing and selling his screenplays. He checked into a hostel in Hollywood on Nov. 10 and stayed there until Nov. 24. Then he disappeared.
Syril’s father told the Jewish Journal that he has filed a report with law enforcement agencies as well as with the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles, but nothing has turned up.
“I’m a little bit surprised at the whole thing, because normally he would call, normally he would say, ‘Send me some money,’” Henri Zimand, a Monaco-based philanthropist who earned his fortunes in real estate and start-up companies, told the Jewish Journal.
An official at the Israeli Consulate told the Jewish Journal that they too had no information as to Syril’s whereabouts. “We tried to locate him, but since the son never initiated contact with us, we didn’t have any leads or information,” Danny Gadot, a spokesperson for consular affairs at the Consulate General of Israel Los Angeles said Thursday.
The last place Syril was seen was at USA Hostels in Hollywood, according to Henri Zimand. Syril stayed at the hostel for 14 days, the maximum amount of days allowed for guests at the hostel. During his stay, he called his father—whom he spoke to multiple times per week—and asked for money to pay for the hotel.
Sometime after Nov. 24, Zimand said, Syril called his father to say he’d received the money, $1,000, and that everything was fine. He made no mention of his living arrangements. That was the last time the two made contact.
Zimand said he learned that Syril checked out of that hostel only when Henri Zimand’s sister visited the hotel during a trip to Los Angeles. She was told by the hostel that Syril was no longer staying there.
Law enforcement officers have suggested that Syril may be traveling, an idea that Henri Zimand dismisses. “His only interest was to sell scripts and write scripts, so that he can only do in Los Angeles,” he said. “That was his main goal.”
