Jay Footlik

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Jay Footlik
Born (1965-10-19) October 19, 1965 (age 59)

Jay Kerry Footlik (October 19, 1965) [1] is an American actor and a lobbyist for Qatar [2] [3] and Morocco. [4] [5]

Contents

He served as Special Assistant to United States President Bill Clinton and as a senior Middle East advisor to John Kerry.

Early life and education

Footlik was born in 1965 in Skokie, Illinois. [6] As a child his family suffered from financial struggles, still sending him to Hebrew School at Niles Township Jewish Congregation. [6] He graduated fron Niles North High School. [7]

He earned a B.A. in political science from UCLA, specializing in US foreign policy and the Middle East (1988). He also has a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles (1994) and is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association. [8] [9]

Career

Footlik serves on the board of trustees of the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) and is a founding board member of SAFE (Securing America's Future Energy), an organization dedicated to reducing America's dependency on oil. [8] [10]

On theatre and on screen

At age 12 Footlik had his first professional theatrical appearance in "Working" by Studs Terkel, adapted and directed by Stephen Schwartz at Goodman Theatre in Chicago. [6] He later performed in numerous Chicago productions at Marriott's Lincolnshire Theatre and others. He has appeared on movies such as: Teen Wolf (1985), [6] Iron Eagle (1986) [6] and Redemption Day (2021); and on television in Chicago Story (1982), The Judge (1986) and Dig (2015).

In politics

He held a senior position on Bill Clinton’s successful campaign for president in 1992 and was later a Special Assistant to Clinton while he served as the president of the United States. [3] He was also special liaison to the American Jewish community in Clinton's administration. [11]

He was later Senior Middle East Advisor for John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004, [5] and Director of Constituency Outreach for Joe Lieberman's presidential campaign in 2008. [8] [12] [13]

Footlik was a candidate for United States Congress in Illinois's 10th congressional district, losing to Dan Seals in the primary in 2008. [14]

Qatari connection affair

In 2024, he consulted with Israeli families of hostages held by Hamas, meeting them in Washington, D.C. and organizing for them to meet with Qatari officials. [15]

In 2025, he was named as one of the main people involved in the Qatari connection affair, allegedly transferring money from Qatar to Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesperson Eli Feldstein via businessman Gil Birger. [16] A United States-based interview which had been planned with Footlik was cancelled in July 2025. Previous interviews had been delayed for personal reasons, including a death in Footlik's family. [17] A planned inquiry by the United States Department of Justice, which was expected to take place in coordination with the Israeli police, was dropped in July 2025, with no explanation given. [18] An arrest warrant for Footlik was issued by Israeli police in late August 2025. [19]

Personal life

Footlik has three daughters and lives in suburban Washington, DC.

He is a member of the Democratic Party. [20]

References

  1. "Book Jay Footlik For Celebrity Endorsement | Appearance". PartyMap. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
  2. ToI Staff. "Israeli businessman says he moved cash from Qatari lobbyist to PM's aide Feldstein". The Times of Israel . Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Genn, James (March 20, 2025). "Who is Jay Footlik, the US lobbyist in 'Qatargate?' - explainer". The Jerusalem Post . Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  4. Tolan, Casey (June 21, 2019). "Joe Biden refunds campaign donations from lobbyist for Qatar, Morocco". The Mercury News . Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Lippman, Daniel; Oprysko, Caitlin (January 31, 2024). "Advisers to families of hostages held in Gaza backed by Qatari funding". Politico . Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Skokie native enjoying role as Clinton aide". Chicago Tribune . September 25, 1995. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  7. "niles north high school famous alumni". www.kbspas.com. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 "People - Jay Footlik". Global Policy Associates. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  9. Isaacson, Gila (March 31, 2025). "QATAR-GATE: Who is Jay Footlik?". JFeed. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  10. "Board of Directors – Middle East Investment Initiative" . Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  11. "Queen Esther and a Prayer Book: Jewish Involvement in Monicagate". Jewish Telegraphic Agency . March 20, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  12. "'Promised to work for the American public 24/6': Former advisor eulogizes Senator Joe Lieberman". The Jerusalem Post . March 28, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  13. Davis, Andrew (January 30, 2008). "Election 2008: Jay Footlik-Seeking New Direction in the 10th District". Windy City Times . Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  14. "David J. Kalbfleisch for U.S. House, IL-10 in 2010". Archived from the original on August 20, 2008. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  15. "Gaza hostages' families consulted by Qatari-funded entities - report". The Jerusalem Post . February 1, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  16. i24NEWS (March 19, 2025). "Qatar-gate: Israeli businessman admits transferring money to Netanyahu aide". i24NEWS. Retrieved August 28, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. Bandel, Netael (July 3, 2025). "US lobbyist's interview in Qatargate affair delayed again". Ynet . Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  18. "US reportedly cancels probe into pro-Qatari lobbyist and Qatargate suspect Footlik". The Times of Israel . July 4, 2025. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  19. Summers, Charlie (August 28, 2025). "Police issue warrant for American lobbyist Jay Footlik over Qatargate scandal". The Times of Israel . Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  20. "LittleSis: Jay K Footlik". littlesis.org. Retrieved August 28, 2025.

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