Boarding School Founder Chico Sabbah
Maurice “Chico” Sabbah, founder of the nation’s only non-Orthodox Jewish boarding school, died April 17 at age 77. A wealthy businessman, Sabbah poured more than $100 million into the school’s 100-acre campus in Greensboro, N.C. His contribution, which paid full tuition for the school’s initial 77 students, is believed to be the single largest donation by any individual to Jewish education in the United States. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Great Neck, N.Y., Sabbah immigrated to Israel and served in the Israeli army after college. After returning to the United States, he served in the U.S. Army in Korea before entering the reinsurance business. In 2001 he started the American Hebrew Academy, which now serves 126 students.
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