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Wharton Israelis Trek Home, Bringing Friends

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For the better part of the academic year, Yair Cassuto and three fellow Israelis studying at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School have devoted their free time to contacting hotels, restaurants, tourist sites and business leaders back home. No, they're not studying the intricacies of the tourism business, nor are they getting paid a cent for this work. Instead, they...

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Selling a Neighborhood

By:

Bryan Schwartzman

Meir and Shira Reiner thought it was time to leave Queens behind and move to a more affordable Orthodox community. Although Meir Reiner is an ordained rabbi, he works professionally as a high-tech entrepreneur. So basically, all he needs is a good Internet connection. The couple looked into numerous options, but a year-and-a-half ago, they settled on a fixer-upper within...

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When Life's a Bargain

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Fredda Sacharow, Jewish Exponent Feature

He was part of a team that convinced 3,000 Bolivian farmers to stop growing coca for cocaine and start cultivating bananas. He helped forge an agreement that ended the bitter, three-month long Writers Guild strike in 2008. He moderated a discussion between Latvia's agriculture minister and its defense minister that nudged a fledgling government closer to democracy. He even finessed...

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Two Jews to Make Runs for Philly Council Seats

By:

Bryan Schwartzman

There hasn't been a Jewish member of Philadelphia City Council since the death of 90-year-old David Cohen in 2005. Now, at least two Jews are campaigning for a council seat, though there's still more than a month left to file to be on the ballot for the May 17 primary. One of the Jewish Democratic contenders is Cohen's daughter, Sherrie...

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Mixed Emotions for Their Old Home

By:

Bryan Schwartzman

On a section of the wall in Rabbi Albert Gabbai's book-lined living room hang images that conjure up moments in the life of Egypt's vanished Jewish community. In one photograph, taken in the early 1940s, a group of men dressed in traditional Ottoman hats hover over a swaddled infant, Gabbai's older brother, following his brit milah. But don't expect the...