Jonathan Tasini

Jonathan Tasini
Jonathan Tasini speaking at a 2009 campaign fundraiser on Staten Island
Personal details
Born	Jonathan Bernard Yoav Tasini 1956 (age 60–61) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic Party
Residence	New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	Tel Aviv University University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation	strategist, organizer, activist, commentator and writer
Religion	Jewish

Jonathan Bernard Yoav Tasini (born October 18, 1956) is a strategist, organizer, activist, commentator and writer, primarily focusing his energies on the topics of work, labor and the economy. On June 11, 2009, he announced that he would challenge New York U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the Democratic primary for the 2010 U.S. Senate special election in New York. However, Tasini later decided to run instead for a seat in the House of Representatives in 2010.

He was the president of the National Writers Union from 1990 to 2003. In 2006, he unsuccessfully challenged incumbent U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, principally because of the incumbent's vote for the Iraq War.

He is currently president of the Economic Future Group, a national consulting group in the United States. He also writes frequently for a labor and economy blog Working Life.

Tasini was born in Houston, though he would spend much of his late childhood in Israel. Tasini's late father, Betsalel Tasini, was a computer scientist who was born in Palestine and fought in the Haganah, Israel's pre-state army, and its strike force, the Palmach. Tasini lived with his father and stepmother in Israel for 7 years and speaks fluent Hebrew. He completed high school in Israel and continued his studies there at Tel Aviv University. While there, he was also involved in the powerful labor movement in Israel, Histadrut. He also holds a degree in political sciences from UCLA.