Joel Benenson

Before entering politics, Joel Benenson tried journalism: he worked for the New York Daily News, but found he felt strongly about the issues he was covering. So he moved in communications for Gov. Mario Cuomo’s reelection campaign in 1994, and then President Bill Clinton’s in 1996. He pioneered new research methods that helped Barack Obama win the presidency twice. He also advises corporations and not-for-profits, including AARP, the National Football League and Toyota, on their communications strategy. This year, Benenson, 67, worked as a strategist for the new Israeli coalition, Blue and White, the leading contender to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — in not one but two campaigns.

Benenson did not respond to our questionnaire, but we’ve pulled some fun facts from published profiles.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

What did he want to be when he grew up? An actor. Benenson majored in acting at Queens College and directed a one-man off-Broadway show about the Holocaust. To earn extra money, he helped run a beer distributorship in Crown Heights.

How many presidential campaigns has he worked on? Four. Clinton 1996, Obama 2008 and 2012 and Hillary Clinton’s in 2016.

She lost, right? Yes, and Benenson was stunned to learn that the Russians had stolen his company’s internal modeling. “I saw it and I said, ‘Holy shit,’” he told the New Yorker.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.

This year, we have stood together in strength and sorrow. Our Forward team has worked around the clock to help you find clarity amid the chaos.

If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.

Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism. 

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount