CHISINAU, Moldova -- To tour the largely empty Jewish communities of Moldova and its capital, Chisinau -- once known by Jews the world over as Kishinev -- is not to wonder where did all the Jews go but why there are any remaining. Overgrown cemeteries...

OTACI, Moldova -- After just half an hour the little blue tour bus painted with smiling dolphins died with a smell of something burning, leaving Matthew Bronfman stranded next to a muddy field somewhere in rural Moldova. It was a surreal start to what...