Joel Pollak

Joel Pollak
Born April 25, 1977
Johannesburg, South Africa
Residence Santa Monica, California
Nationality American
Education Harvard University (A.B.), University of Cape Town (M.A.), Harvard University (J.D.)
Occupation Lawyer, Politician, Author
Known for Nominee for U.S. Representative for Illinois, 9th District
Political party

Republican

Democrat prior to 2006
Religion Jewish[1]
Website
Joel Pollak for Congress

Joel Barry Pollak (born April 25, 1977) is an American political commentator and author. As of 2012, he is the editor-in-chief and in-house counsel for Breitbart.com.[2] In 2010 he was the Republican nominee for U.S. Congress from Illinois's 9th congressional district, losing to incumbent Democrat Jan Schakowsky with 31% of the vote.[3]

Personal life

Pollak was born in Johannesburg, South Africa but his parents emigrated to the United States shortly after his birth.[4] He became a U.S. citizen in 1987.[4] He grew up in the Chicago suburbs, principally in Skokie. He attended Solomon Schechter Day School and Niles North High School,[1] where he was the class valedictorian in 1995.[4]

Pollak attended Harvard College and graduated magna cum laude in 1999 with a joint degree in Social Studies and Environmental Science & Public Policy (ESPP).[4] He earned a master’s degree in Jewish Studies from the University of Cape Town in 2006. He then enrolled at Harvard Law School. He married Julia Inge Pollak (née Bertelsmann) in December 2009.[5] They have a daughter named Maya (b. February 1, 2012).

Career

In 2010 Pollak was the Republican nominee for U.S. Congress from Illinois's 9th congressional district, challenging incumbent Democrat Jan Schakowsky, whom he had voted for while still a Democrat (prior to 2006).[1] He lost, garnering 31.1% of the votes to Schakowsy's 66.3%. Pollak was endorsed by the Chicago Tea Party and refers to himself as a Tea Party Republican.[6]

After the election, Pollak was asked by Andrew Breitbart to become in-house counsel at his Breitbart.com websites, and Pollak moved to California. He also became editor-in-chief of the website.[2][7]

During an interview with Soledad O'Brien on CNN Pollak promised to vet all candidates from both parties.

POLLAK: What's coming is what Andrew Breitbart called the vetting. We're going to go through the past of Barack Obama and the present, the four years that he's been in office relating to his economic performance, his encroachment upon constitutional rights, his foreign policy, and it's not just about Democrats. We're going after Republican candidates as well. [8]

Publications

Pollak’s first book,[9] The Kasrils Affair: Jews and Minority Politics in the New South Africa (Double Storey, 2009) is based on his master’s thesis and uses debates involving the Jewish community as a window onto minority politics in general in post-apartheid South Africa. His second book,[10] Don’t Tell Me Words Don’t Matter: How Rhetoric Won the 2008 Presidential Election (HC Press, 2009) is self-published and describes the role played by speeches in Barack Obama’s victory over John McCain.

Pollak has written numerous op-eds and articles. While in law school, he wrote for the Harvard Law Record and alleged on his blog that Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat faked his blood donation for the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks.[11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Felsenthal, Carol (April 12, 2010). "So What's a Nice Jewish Boy from Skokie Doing with Tea Partiers?". Chicago magazine.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Felsenthal, Carol (1 March 2012). Andrew Breitbart's Right-Hand Man: Skokie-Bred Joel Pollak, Chicago (magazine)
  3. ↑ "Joel Pollak, Republican Candidate for Congress, 9th District of Illinois". Pollakforcongress.com. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Joel Pollak, About". Pollakforcongress.com. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  5. ↑ "Alumnae News: Wedding: Julia Bertelsmann & Joel Pollak". St. Cyprian's School. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
  6. ↑ Pollak, Joel B. (2010-06-10). "Why I'm Running as a Tea Party Republican". The Wall Street Journal.
  7. ↑ Felsenthal, Carol (30 September 2011). Joel Pollak on Anthony Weiner, Andrew Breitbart, and Why Sarah Palin Could Be the First Jewish President, Chicago (magazine)
  8. ↑ "CNN.com". CNN.
  9. ↑ Pollak, Joel B. (2009). The Kasrils Affair: Jews and Minority Politics in Post-Apartheid South Africa. [Cape Town]: Double Storey. ISBN 978-1919895079.
  10. ↑ "Don't Tell Me Words Don't Matter Official Site". Donttellmewordsdontmatter.net. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  11. ↑ "Guide to the Perplexed". Guidetotheperplexed.blogspot.com. 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2010-03-29.

External links