What To Watch: My Unorthodox Life

In Defense of My Unorthodox Life

Love her or hate her, one thing is clear: Julia Haart, the 50-year-old self-described ultra-Orthodox Jew turned fashion mogul and star of Netflix’s newest reality show My Unorthodox Life, has a whole lot of chutzpah.  At 42, Haart left an Orthodox Jewish community in Monsey, NY for a largely secular life in Manhattan. So frustrated with Orthodoxy’s restrictive rules that she became suicidal, she secretly started selling insurance, saved up and took off to start a new life. Haart launched a shoe company and quickly rose in the fashion industry, becoming CEO of the modeling and talent agency Elite World Group. She had four children with her ex-husband, three of whom have left Monsey and live elsewhere in New York. She shares custody of her fourth child, Aron, who splits his time between her ex-husband’s house...

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Israel's Donald Trump? Reality Show to Feature "The Arcadi"

By Mandy Katz Jerusalem voters may have told Arcadi Gaydamak, "You're fired" last week, as Nir Barkat edged him for the Jerusalem mayoralty. But don't imagine the oligarch just sitting at home counting his shekels, or making prank phone calls to those méchants prosecutors in France trying him for arms trading. The Russian-reared Gaydamak, one of Israel's richest citizens, plans to star in a reality-TV show along the lines of Donald Trump's Apprentice series, but devoted to snack stands and other small businesses, Ynet reports: will accompany and advise businesses with especially small turnover rates, such as Falafel stands, clothing stores and factories in the periphery, until their profit margin rises significantly. If he boosts those felafel profits high enough, maybe we could import him for a future season devoted to slightly larger businesses. I can think of three...

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