Mike Wagenheim 02/01/2021 Mideast peace achieved with the help of a Hasidic Jew in Washington tasked with shrinking infrastructure funding gaps in Latin America and Asia Mitchell (Moyshe) Silk, former assistant US treasury secretary for international markets and development, learned Cantonese while washing dishes at a Chinese restaurant in Chicago. That fluke of life set the foundation for Silk’s long rise as an expert in Chinese law and finance (he later learned Mandarin in a more formal educational setting), eventually serving as head of China practice at the Allen & Overy international law firm before becoming the highest-ranking Hasidic Jew ever to serve in the US federal government.