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 reportedly to delay reopening Jerusalem consulate for Palestinians
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Report: US Delaying Jerusalem Consulate Reopening Until After Israeli Budget Passes | The Jewish Press - JewishPress com | JNS News Service | 13 Av 5781 – July 22, 2021
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Biden pushing off Jerusalem mission reopening until coalition stabilizes
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By Amb. Alan Baker web posted July 19, 2021
On May 25, 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Ramallah with PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas, as part of a series of measures intended to “engage with and provide support for the Palestinian people.” Blinken announced the intention of the U.S. administration to reopen the former U.S. Consulate-General in Jerusalem. The former consulate had served as a quasi-diplomatic mission to the Palestinian leadership and served Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem, the West Bank areas of Judea and Samaria, and the Gaza Strip. The consulate was merged in 2019 with the new U.S. embassy, which opened in Jerusalem following the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.