Joel Martin Rubin

Rubin was born on April 8, 1971,[5] and raised in a Conservative Jewish family[3] in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[6] He attended Brandeis University for his undergraduate education, where he received a bachelor's degree in politics. He went on to study Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College, where he received an M.S. in public policy and management with a minor in business administration.[7]

Rubin appears as a political commentator on American networks such as MSNBC[22] and Fox News; and on international networks such as i24, China Global Television Network, and Al-Jazeera. He also writes political and national security commentary for Axios,[23] The Forward,[24] Washington Jewish Week,[25] and The Hill.[26]

Rubin was a surrogate for the 2012 Barack Obama presidential campaign; an advocate for the Iran nuclear deal as the Policy Director for Ploughshares Fund; and as a commentator on the 2012 Benghazi attack. Following the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting at his hometown synagogue, Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation, Joel appeared on Fox News and MSNBC to discuss the attack,[27] later commenting as well on the rise of antisemitism in America after the 2019 Poway synagogue shooting.[28] Rubin frequently comments on foreign policy & congressional politics for networks such as Fox News, MSNBC, BBC, Al Jazeera.

Joel has also appeared in Jewish magazines for his political work.[29]

During his tenure at the U.S. State Department, Rubin worked to prevent Congress from passing a resolution of disapproval of the Iran Nuclear Deal with a veto-proof majority.[8]

During his 2016 congressional campaign, Rubin said he supported raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, increasing infrastructure spending, and strengthening Social Security and Medicare by removing the cap on payroll taxes.[30] He also spoke against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, citing concerns over protections for workers at home and abroad,[31] and said he supported moving funding away from the U.S. Department of Defense and toward education.[32]

In October 2017, Rubin voted to approve a $50,000 grant to the Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail, a trail group that was suing to prevent the construction of the Purple Line, saying that the companies contracted to build the transit line were not following commitments to ease the impact to the town. The grant was rejected by the Chevy Chase Town Council by a 4-1 vote.[33]

Rubin has criticized the use of the term "apartheid" towards Israel as antisemitic.[34] During his 2024 congressional campaign, Rubin described himself as a "defender of Israel", but said he opposed the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed judicial reforms.[4]

Rubin and his wife during his 2018 House of Delegates campaign

Rubin is married to his wife, Nilmini (née Gunaratne), whom he met at a going-away party for his college roommate in the spring of 2000.[35] She is a Sri Lankan-American who works as a senior policy advisor for the House Foreign Affairs Committee and is a registered Republican.[3] Together, they have three daughters[36][37] and have lived in Chevy Chase, Maryland since 2006.[17] He is Jewish and a member of the Adas Israel Congregation.[7]