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• T Nails

Israeli-born businessman
takes citizenship oath.

HARRY KIRS BAUM
Staff Writer

Tt was the wealth of opportunity and
lithe open doors to success that
brought Israeli-born Beni Dror to this
point — becoming an American citizen.
Dror, 59, was sworn in along with
275 others during the naturalization cer-
emony of new citizens held May 1 at
the Southfield Centre for the Arts. The
Oakland County Bar Association and
the Michigan Chapter of the American
Immigration Lawyers Association hosted
the event.
"When you live
in the country, you
want to feel that you
are equal," said Dror
of West Bloomfield.
"Even with a green
card, you're a split
personality. You
don't know where
Beni Dror
you belong. With
citizenship, you have a commitment,
and you don't want to live in a country
without commitment."
Dror, whose West Bloomfield busi-
ness, International Projects
Management, takes companies global,
was born in Israel "when it was still
Palestine," and grew up in Haifa. He
served as a captain in the army reserve,
fighting in the Six-Day War, Yom
Kippur War and the Lebanese conflict.
He became a "freelance" businessman
in 1976, representing American manu-
facturing companies in Israel and
Europe.
In the early 1980s, when business in
Israel started to dry up because of the
economic crisis, Dror started to look for
opportunities elsewhere.
In 1988, when he lost his wife to
cancer, he applied for a green card.
His three daughters — two are mar-
ried with children — still live in Israel:
he visits them at least every other
month. Business trips take him to
Europe 10 to 15 times a year.
"The business, the opportunity, the
freedom are what keep me here. A per-
son in Israel has to be well-connected to
do the same job, because the economy is
so tough," he said. "This country pro-
vides a lot of opportunities."

■•■

Sample citizenship questions:
www.detroitjewsishnews.com

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