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Ilan Tzadka

Ilan Tzadka

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The Hebrew language is a tool that bonds Jews from all the world. No one knows that as well as Ilan Tzadka, an immigrant to Chicago from Israel who has provided Jews in over 70 countries with the ability to learn Hebrew as marketing director of Hebrew Today.  Although his primary gig is running Lighthouse Real Estate Investment Group, where he self-manages a real-estate portfolio of 200 units across Chicago, he's also helping children and adults improve their Hebrew daily through two easy-to-read newspapers,  Bereshit and Yanshuf.

At Lighthouse, Ilan gives back by providing the vacancies in his portfolio to those who are in the early stages of homelessness and ensures that each person receives a safe living place, a warm shower, and moral support on their road to recovery. Working at LYTE Collection has also been a priority for Ilan, as he offers guidance and resources to youth living below the poverty line.

AGE:
34

PRIMARY GIG:
A dad

ON THE SIDE:
An Olympic Juggler; Head of Biz Dev and Co-Founder of Chicago based Lighthouse Real Estate Investment Group; Head of Marketing for Jerusalem based, family-owned, www.HebrewToday.com - Easy Hebrew Newspaper for beginners; Headache for Luxury One Group, a NYC-based Uber leasing dealership; Going head over heels to help several disruptive Israeli start-ups to “Make it in America.”

RELATIONSHIP STATUS:
Married to Shiri the superwoman

DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 10 WORDS OR LESS:
Barely getting out of bed to change lives, since 1983.

SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME:
Thanks to making smart choices and tough decisions along the way, I was able to never do laundry. Not even once.

A JEW WHO INSPIRES YOU:
Aliza Tzadka, my grandmother -- a 102-year-old Jew who fled Iraq, lived the ups and downs of baby Israel through wars, poverty and anti-Semitism, gave birth to my aunt in a British tank and was thankful for every day that she was alive and well. All the rest is gravy.   

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