1. Nir Barkat is an Israeli businessman and politician currently serving as Minister of Economy.
23 Facts About Nir Barkat
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Nir Barkat's father, Zalman, was a professor of physics at the Hebrew University.
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Nir Barkat's grandparents came from Poland and Russia to Mandatory Palestine in the 1920s, and died in 1924.
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Nir Barkat holds a BA in computer science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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Nir Barkat studied for a master's degree in business administration at the same institution, but has not completed it.
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Nir Barkat started his career in the high-tech industry by founding a software company called BRM in 1988, which specialized in antivirus software.
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Nir Barkat later helped found the social investment company IVN, Israel Venture Network.
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In 2007, Nir Barkat took part in the Israeli version of Dragons' Den, the venture-capitalist television program, which consists of entrepreneurs pitching their ideas in order to secure investment from business experts.
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On October 3,2021, Nir Barkat's name was included among 565 Israelis whose names were included in the Pandora papers.
10.
In 1999, the Nir Barkat family began to explore the educational gaps in Jerusalem through their investment in The Snunit Center for the Advancement of Web Based Learning, a non-profit, non-governmental organization which uses web based resources to improve online education and improve personal and social growth within the Israeli society.
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Nir Barkat saw this investment as the beginning of his interest in entering into Jerusalem's municipal politics.
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Nir Barkat briefly led the Jerusalem faction of the Kadima party from 2006 - 2007, then a powerhouse in Israeli politics, but left due to disagreements with the proposal to relinquish portions of Jerusalem.
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Nir Barkat was described as a secular politician, contrasting with both Lupoliansky and Porush, who are Haredi.
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Nir Barkat ran on a platform of increasing tourism, finding solutions to the housing crisis, and opposing the light rail.
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Nir Barkat helped to initiate the city's first international marathon in 2011 and has personally participating in races both in Jerusalem and abroad.
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Nir Barkat had a long-running feud with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon over funding which led to city-wide strikes several years in a row.
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Kahlon argued that Nir Barkat was wasting funding and mismanagement, while Nir Barkat argued that Kahlon was withholding funds for political reasons.
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Nir Barkat previously endorsed Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu for Prime Minister in the 2013 and 2015 Knesset elections.
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Nir Barkat's administration has provided incentives, tax breaks, and grants for companies with employees living in the city.
20.
Nir Barkat has come under fire from some women's rights activists.
21.
In February 2015, Nir Barkat garnered international attention when he intervened after seeing a Palestinian man trying to stab a Jewish person.
22.
The Tzahal Square incident prompted responses from figures such as former Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren, who stated that Nir Barkat had "courageously" acted, as well as commentators on Facebook who shared tongue-in-cheek images depicting Nir Barkat as Batman, Neo, and other film characters.
23.
Nir Barkat was appointed Minister of Economy and Industry on 1 January 2023, on behalf of his party, the Likud.