Nir Barkat, a member of the Knesset, is not a household name in the U.S. or Israel, despite his two terms as mayor of Jerusalem. Now a member of the main opposition party, Likud, Barkat has never served in the cabinet.
Nonetheless, the 61-year-old high-tech entrepreneur whose net worth is estimated at several hundred million dollars has consistently polled as the favorite to succeed former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the leader of the nationalist camp.
While Netanyahu has vowed to remain as head of the opposition, Barkat seeks to pave his own path to the premiership. That path took a detour into the U.S. this week. He visited Washington and New York to promote legislation he is sponsoring to block the re-opening of a U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem to serve Palestinians and to introduce himself to Americans who know little of him.
US waiting until Israeli budget passes to reopen consulate in Jerusalem: report
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Will the US challenge Israel s claims to the unification of Jerusalem?
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