Joel Rubin

Joel Rubin is the Director of Policy and Government Affairs for the Ploughshares Fund.  He is a former congressional aide and diplomat, having worked for two senior Democratic Senators on foreign policy, defense, and appropriations issues and at the State Department in both Near Eastern Affairs and Political-Military Affairs, winning numerous awards. A frequent commentator on foreign policy and national security affairs for MSNBC, CBS, Al Jazeera, the BBC, the Washington Post, the Daily Beast, and USA Today, he also blogs frequently on Huffington Post and writes a monthly political column for the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. Previously, Joel was the Deputy Director/Chief Operating Officer of the National Security Network and was also the founding Political and Government Affairs Director of J Street and JStreetPAC, the political home of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement. A former Peace Corps Volunteer, Joel holds a joint Master’s degree in Public Policy and Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor’s degree in Politics from Brandeis University.  Joel lives in Maryland with his wife and three children.