Nir Barkat has plenty of reason to advocate for Jerusalem. Not only is he local mayor of the city, but he was also raised there. Barkat was born in 1959 and moved with his family to the Israeli capital at a young age. At the age of 18, he joined the Paratroopers Brigade of the IDF, where he served for a total of six years, more than the compulsory time. Barkat was promoted to the rank of Major and received a bachelor’s degree in computer science at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He used those …More

Ex-New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, who was forced out of office by a scandal, is considering a run for New York City mayor. Weiner, 48, and his wife, Huma Abedin, submitted to an extensive profile in this weekend's New York Times Magazine in part because Weiner is testing the waters for a possible run in this year's race. The veteran Democratic lawmaker resigned from Congress in June 2011 after lying about tweeting an illicit photo of himself to a 21-year-old supporter. According to the newspaper, Weiner has …More

A Tunisian government committee rejected a proposal to allocate a bloc of seats in parliament to Jews. The proposal, which had been opposed by Tunisia's Jewish leadership, was rejected by the National Constituent Assembly's committee on legislative and executive powers on the grounds that it would create unnecessary divisions among Tunisians, committee member Walid Bannani told Tunisia Live. “This suggestion has no aim, and this is a civil country where the rights and duties of each citizen are determined …More

Ehud Barak officially concluded his tenure as Israel’s defense minister, with a farewell ceremony last night at Bar-Ilan University. Barak saw Israel through some critical times during his 2,000-plus days at the post, including Gaza operations Cast Lead and Pillar of Defense. But Barak’s political career stretches far back. He served as prime minister from 1999 to 2001, an achievement among a handful of government positions including minister of foreign affairs and IDF chief of staff. “I …More

The life of Sir Julius Vogel got off to a rather inauspicious start. Born in London in 1835, Vogel’s childhood was not a happy one. The son of Phoebe Isaac, from a well-known Jewish merchant family, and Alpert Leopold Vogel, a Christian from Holland, Vogel was abandoned by his father and his younger brother died before he turned six. Some accounts, like the 1875 Otego Witness’ report reprinted in New Zealand’s Star newspaper, claim that Julius was orphaned as a young child and left in the care …More

Australia’s prime minister is taking some flak, after calling for a national election to take place on Yom Kippur next September. PM Julia Gillard made the announcement yesterday, a move that would mean a shut out at the polls for the nation’s 100,000-strong Jewish community. Jewish leaders within Australia have taken varying sides on the debate, with some calling it an insensitivity and others labeling it a non-issue. Executive Council of Australian Jewry Director Peter Wertheim told reporters, …More

Rob Lattin is Jspace News' Foreign Affairs Correspondent. In addition to covering foreign affairs for Jspace, Rob is a blogger on Israeli and Middle Eastern foreign policy for the Foreign Policy Association, as well as a freelance writer. He can be reached by email at rob@jspacecorp.com. On Wednesday the New York Times ran an article by Ronen Bergman recounting an interview with Shimon Peres, during which the Israeli president stated he believed US President Barack Obama would bomb Iran if all other options …More

Israeli President Shimon Peres is doing his part to encourage young people to vote, and he’s using social media to push that agenda. Peres, 89, launched a Facebook application called Voter Brings a Friend, which will allow savvy voters to check in at polling booths and watch friends' voting statuses come Israeli election day later this month. Peres’ post is designated by the Knesset, not the electorate, making the initiative fully nonpartisan. "I call upon every young person with the right to vote …More

On a wintry day at a small Iowa shul in November of 2003, John Kerry got all verklempt. The man whose opponents had taken to depicting as aloof and patrician, whose campaign for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination had been all but written off by that point, leapt onto the dais at Tifereth Israel synagogue in Des Moines. Kerry delivered an emotional account of his then-recent discovery that his grandfather was Jewish and recalled how, on a visit to Israel standing atop Masada, he had cried out, “Am …More

Ukrainian Jewish leaders are biting back at their nation’s recent approval of an anti-Semitic slur. Last month, a member of the far-right Svoboda Party took to Facebook to call Ukrainian-born Mila Kunis a “zhydovka,” the feminine form of “zyhd,” which translates to yid in English. Igor Miroshnichenko wrote on his Facebook page that the Jewish actress, who immigrated to the US as a child, was “not Ukrainian but a Jewess.” The accepted term for a Jewish woman in Ukrainian …More

The head of the National Jewish Democratic Council is stepping down, just weeks after concluding major campaigning for President Barack Obama. "With the confidence of knowing that I’ve accomplished key goals here at NJDC that are central to our mission, I’m very much looking forward to new professional challenges and directions," said President David Harris yesterday. Harris, 43, took on the post in 2009 and spent three years focusing on shaping the public’s view of Obama’s stance on …More

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has been indicted for fraud and breach of trust, just weeks before Israelis head to the polls. The news ended a 12-year investigation into Lieberman’s alleged crimes, the majority of which focused on supposed bribes and money laundering. While Lieberman was cleared of some of the more serious charges against him, Israeli Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein announced today his intent to bring Lieberman in on the fraud and trust breach suspicions. "I am convinced …More