Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. Photo: Wikipedia.

Nir Barkat

Mayor of Jerusalem

As the mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat has a Herculean task: uniting a city that is the epicenter of the Jewish world, and the myriad of opinions, desires and visions within it.

“Jerusalem is a hub that influences not only its residents, not only the Jewish people,” Barkat has said. “There’s no doubt in my mind it has huge influence around the world.”

A Jerusalem native, Barkat garnered international attention in 2015 when he intervened after seeing a Palestinian man trying to stab a Jewish victim. Barkat succeeded in subduing the attacker; his security detail came in immediately afterward and provided first aid.

He also strongly criticized the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that “Jerusalem, Israel” cannot be listed as “place of birth” on the passports of Jerusalem-born Americans. He added that he expected U.S. support “in these days in particular, when anti-Semitism is trying to raise its head and BDS supports the positions of Hamas.”