Rahm Emanuel

Early life and family

Emanuel's father, Benjamin M. Emanuel, was born in Jerusalem, where he was a member of the Irgun, a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine. He moved to the United States to work as a pediatrician at Michael Reese Hospital. The surname Emanuel (Hebrew: עמנואל) was adopted by their family in memory of Rahm's uncle (his father's brother) Emanuel Auerbach, who died of an infection after being hit by a stray bullet during a 1933 conflict between Arab protestors and the police in Mandatory Palestine.

Emanuel's maternal grandfather was a Moldovan Jew who emigrated from Bessarabia. His mother, Marsha (née Smulevitz), is the daughter of a West Side Chicago labor union organizer who worked in the civil rights movement. She briefly owned a local rock and roll club, and later became an adherent of Benjamin Spock's writings.

Emanuel's parents met during the 1950s in Chicago. Emanuel was born on November 29, 1959, in Chicago, Illinois. His first name, Rahm (רם) means high or lofty in Hebrew. He attended Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School in Lake View for elementary school. He has been described by his older brother Ezekiel, an oncologist and bioethicist at the University of Pennsylvania, as "quiet and observant" as a child. Ari, his younger brother, is the CEO of Endeavor, an entertainment agency with headquarters in Beverly Hills, California. Emanuel also has a younger adopted sister, Shoshana.

Education and ballet dance

Ezekiel Emanuel has written that his father "did not believe in falsely building his sons' self-esteem by purposefully letting us win, or tolerating sloppy play." About his brother Rahm, he also wrote:

"Though fiercely intelligent ... he was not naturally inclined to sit at a desk and put in extra effort to turn a B into an A. As my father often said, without noting that the phrase applied to himself at that same age, "Rahm always tries to get the maximum for the minimum."

While he lived in Chicago, Rahm Emanuel attended the Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School in Lake View. After his family moved to Wilmette, north of the city, Emanuel attended public schools: Romona School, Locust Junior High School, and New Trier High School. He and his brothers attended summer camp in Israel, including the summer following the June 1967 Six-Day War. While a high school student working part-time at an Arby's restaurant, Emanuel severely cut his right middle finger on a meat slicer, which was later infected from swimming in Lake Michigan. His finger was partially amputated due to the severity of the infection.

Emanuel was encouraged by his mother to take ballet lessons. He is a graduate of the Evanston School of Ballet, as well as a student of the Joel Hall Dance Center, where his children later took lessons. He won a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet, but turned it down to attend Sarah Lawrence College, a liberal arts school with a strong dance program. While an undergraduate, Emanuel was elected to the Sarah Lawrence Student Senate. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence in 1981 with a bachelor of arts in liberal arts, and went on to receive a master of arts in speech and communication from Northwestern University in 1985.

Emanuel took part in a two-week civilian volunteer holiday, known as the Sar-El, where, as a civilian volunteer, he assisted the Israel Defense Forces during the 1991 Gulf War, helping to repair truck brakes in one of Israel's northern bases.

Early career

Emanuel began his political career with the public interest and consumer rights organization Illinois Public Action. He went on to serve in a number of capacities in local and national politics, initially specializing in fund-raising for Illinois campaigns, and then nationally. Emanuel worked for Democrat Paul Simon's 1984 election to the U.S. Senate. He also worked as the national campaign director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 1988, and was senior advisor and chief fund-raiser for Richard M. Daley's successful initial campaign for mayor of Chicago, in 1989. He subsequently worked for Illinois Attorney General Neil Hartigan, conducting opposition research for his 1990 gubernatorial campaign.

At the start of then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton's presidential primary campaign, Emanuel was appointed to direct the campaign's finance committee. Emanuel insisted that Clinton schedule time for fund-raising and delay campaigning in New Hampshire. Clinton embarked on an aggressive national fund-raising campaign that allowed the campaign to keep buying television time as attacks on Clinton's character threatened to swamp the campaign during the New Hampshire primary. Clinton's primary rival, Paul Tsongas (the New Hampshire Democratic primary winner), later withdrew, citing a lack of campaign funds. Richard Mintz, a Washington public relations consultant who worked with Emanuel on the campaign, spoke about the soundness of the idea: "It was that [extra] million dollars that really allowed the campaign to withstand the storm we had to ride out in New Hampshire [over Clinton's relationship with Gennifer Flowers and the controversy over his draft status during the Vietnam War]." Emanuel's knowledge of the top donors in the country, and his rapport with "heavily Jewish" donors helped Clinton amass a then-unheard-of sum of $72 million. While working on the Clinton campaign, Emanuel was paid a retainer by the investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Clinton administration

Following the campaign, Emanuel served as a senior advisor to Clinton at the White House from 1993 to 1998. In the White House, Emanuel was initially assistant to the president for political affairs and then senior advisor to the president for policy and strategy. He was a leading strategist in White House efforts to institute NAFTA, increased deportations of undocumented immigrants and the 1994 Crime Bill, among other Clinton initiatives.

Emanuel is known for his "take-no-prisoners style" that has earned him the nickname "Rahmbo." Emanuel sent a dead fish in a box to a pollster who was late delivering polling results. On the night after the 1992 election, angry at Democrats and Republicans who "betrayed" them in the 1992 election, Emanuel stood up at a celebratory dinner with colleagues from the campaign and began plunging a steak knife into the table and began rattling off names while shouting "Dead! Dead! Dead!". Before Tony Blair gave a pro-Clinton speech during the impeachment crisis, Emanuel reportedly screamed at Blair "Don't fuck this up!" while Clinton was present. Blair and Clinton both burst into laughter. However, by 2007 friends of Emanuel were saying that he has "mellowed out". Stories of his personal style have entered the popular culture, inspiring articles and websites that chronicle these and other quotes and incidents. The character Josh Lyman in The West Wing was said to be based on Emanuel, though executive producer Lawrence O'Donnell denied this.

Finance

After serving as an advisor to Bill Clinton, in 1998 Emanuel resigned from his position in the administration and joined the investment banking firm Wasserstein Perella, where he worked for 2.5 years. Although he did not have an MBA or prior banking experience, he became a managing director at the firm's Chicago office in 1999, and according to congressional disclosures, made $16.2 million in his 2.5 years as a banker. At Wasserstein Perella, he worked on eight deals, including the acquisition by Commonwealth Edison of Peco Energy and the purchase by GTCR Golder Rauner of the SecurityLink home security unit from SBC Communications.

Freddie Mac

In 2000, Emanuel was named to the Board of Directors of Freddie Mac by President Clinton. He earned at least $320,000 during his time there, including later stock sales. During Emanuel's time on the board, Freddie Mac was plagued with scandals involving campaign contributions and accounting irregularities. The Bush administration rejected a request under the Freedom of Information Act to review Freddie Mac board minutes and correspondence during Emanuel's time as a director. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight later accused the board of having "failed in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention". Emanuel resigned from the board in 2001 before his first bid for Congress. During this time, he served on the Board of Commissioners of the Chicago Housing Authority.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In 2002, Emanuel pursued the U.S. House seat in the 5th district of Illinois, previously held by Rod Blagojevich, who successfully ran for governor of Illinois. His strongest opponent in the crowded primary of eight was former Illinois state representative Nancy Kaszak. During the primary, Edward Moskal, president of the Polish American Congress, a political action committee endorsing Kaszak, called Emanuel a "millionaire carpetbagger". Emanuel won the primary and defeated Republican candidate Mark Augusti in the general election. Emanuel's inaugural election to the House with 67% was the closest he ever had for this seat, as he subsequently won more than 70% in all of his re-election bids.

Tenure

Emanuel was elected after the October 2002 joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War, and so did not vote on it. However, in the lead up to the resolution, Emanuel spoke out in support of the war.

In January 2003, Emanuel was named to the House Financial Services Committee and sat on the subcommittee that oversaw Freddie Mac. A few months later, Freddie Mac Chief Executive Officer Leland Brendsel was forced out and the committee and subcommittee commenced more than a year of hearings into Freddie Mac. Emanuel skipped every hearing allegedly for reasons of avoiding any appearance of favoritism, impropriety, or conflict of interest.

Emanuel aligned himself with the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman

Emanuel assumed the position of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman (DCCC) after the death of the previous chair, Bob Matsui. Emanuel led the Democratic Party's effort to capture the majority in the House of Representatives in the 2006 elections. The documentary HouseQuake, featuring Emanuel, chronicles those elections. Emanuel had disagreements over Democratic election strategy with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. Dean favored a "fifty-state strategy", building support for the Democratic Party over the long term, while Emanuel advocated a more tactical approach focusing attention on key districts.

The Democratic Party gained 30 seats in the House in the 2006 elections, and Emanuel received praise for his stewardship of the DCCC, even from Illinois Republican Rep. Ray LaHood, who said, "He legitimately can be called the golden boy of the Democratic Party today. He recruited the right candidates, found the money, and funded them, and provided issues for them. Rahm did what no one else could do in seven cycles."

However, Emanuel also faced criticism for his failure to support progressive candidates, as Howard Dean advocated. Emanuel had "aggressively recruited right-leaning candidates, frequently military veterans, including former Republicans". Many of the Representatives that Rahm had recruited, such as Heath Shuler, ended up "[voting] against important Obama administration priorities, like economic stimulus, banking reform, and health care". Progressive activist Howie Klein has said that Emanuel's congressional campaign strategy was short-sighted, as it "contributed to the massive G.O.P. majorities we have now, the biggest since the nineteen-twenties" when the Democrats lost control of the House in the 2010 mid-term elections. Progressives like Rep. Maxine Waters criticized him for recruiting conservative Blue Dog Democrats since they played a leading role in Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) negotiations, and stripping it down while voting against other liberal priorities. She characterized it as his "chickens are coming home to roost" since he had told them that they could vote the way they wanted once in office.

After Emanuel's election as chairman of the Democratic Caucus (see below), Chris Van Hollen became committee chair for the 110th Congress.

Democratic Caucus chairman

After his role in helping the Democrats win the 2006 elections, Emanuel was believed to be a leading candidate for the position of Majority Whip. Nancy Pelosi, who became the next Speaker of the House of Representatives, persuaded him not to challenge Jim Clyburn, but instead to succeed Clyburn in the role of Democratic Caucus Chairman. In return, Pelosi agreed to assign the caucus chair more responsibilities, including "aspects of strategy and messaging, incumbent retention, policy development, and rapid-response communications". Caucus vice-chair John Larson remained in his role instead of running for the chairman position. After Vice President Dick Cheney asserted that he did not fall within the bounds of orders set for the executive branch, Emanuel called for cutting off the $4.8 million the Executive Branch provides for the Vice President's office.

White House chief of staff

Emanuel declared in April 2006 that he would support Hillary Clinton should she pursue the presidency in 2008. Emanuel remained close to Clinton after leaving the White House, talking strategy with her at least once a month as chairman of the DCCC. However, Emanuel's loyalties came into conflict when his home-state Senator, Barack Obama, expressed interest in the race. Asked in January 2007, about his stance on the Democratic presidential nomination, he said: "I'm hiding under the desk. I'm very far under the desk, and I'm bringing my paper and my phone." Emanuel remained neutral in the race until June 4, 2008, the day after the final primary contests, when he endorsed Obama.

On November 6, 2008, Emanuel accepted the position of White House Chief of Staff for U.S. President Barack Obama. He resigned his congressional seat effective January 2, 2009. A special primary to fill his vacated congressional seat was held on March 3, 2009, and the special general election on April 7. John Fritchey, a candidate for that seat, said at a forum that Emanuel had told him he may be interested in running for the seat again in the future.

Some Republican leaders criticized Emanuel's appointment because they believed it went against Obama's campaign promises of less divisive politics, given Emanuel's reputation as a partisan Democrat. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham disagreed, saying: "This is a wise choice by President-elect Obama. He's tough, but fair, honest, direct, and candid." Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, said that the choice indicated that Obama would not listen to the "wrong people" regarding the U.S.–Israel relationship. Some commentators opined that Emanuel would be good for the Israeli–Palestinian peace process because if Israeli leaders made excuses for not dismantling settlements, Emanuel would be tough and pressure the Israelis to comply. Some Palestinians expressed dismay at Emanuel's appointment. In an interview with an Israeli newspaper, his father, Dr. Benjamin Emanuel said of his appointment, "Obviously he'll influence the President to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn't he? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to be mopping floors at the White House." Emanuel nicknamed his White House colleague Ben Rhodes "Hamas" for advocating Palestinian human rights during internal policy debates, having once remarked, "Hamas over here, is going to make it impossible for my kid to have his fucking bar mitzvah in Israel."

Weeks after accepting the appointment, Emanuel participated on a panel of corporate chief executive officers sponsored by the Wall Street Journal, and said, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste." Emanuel explained later, "... what I said was, never allow a good crisis to go to waste when it's an opportunity to do things that you had never considered, or that you didn't think were possible." In a 2009 article in The New York Times, Emanuel was characterized as being "perhaps the most influential chief of staff of a generation".

Mayor of Chicago

Elections

On September 30, 2010, it was announced that Emanuel would leave his post as White House Chief of Staff to run for mayor of Chicago. He was replaced by Pete Rouse on October 2, 2010. Emanuel entered the race with high name recognition, having not only a sizable local profile, but also a sizable national profile.

Emanuel's eligibility for office was challenged on the basis of an alleged lack of residency in Chicago for one year prior to the election. This was the period when Emanuel was in Washington serving as the White House chief of staff. The Board of Elections and the Cook County Circuit Court affirmed his eligibility. A divided Court of Appeals reversed the Circuit Court, holding on January 24, 2011, that residency for purposes of a candidate is different from residency for purposes of being a voter. A further appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court resulted in a unanimous decision reversing the Court of Appeals and affirming Emanuel's eligibility.

In the race, Emanuel had a financial advantage over the other candidates. He was by far the best-financed candidate, with more than three times the campaign funds as the second-best financed candidate (Gery Chico), and more than twenty-times the third-best financed candidate (Carol Moseley Braun). Emanuel's had his financial advantage from the very start of his candidacy, as he began his campaign with approximately $1.2 million from his congressional campaign fund. By December 31, 2010, he had raised more than $10.5 million in additional funds. On January 1, 2011, the Illinois Campaign Disclosure Act took effect, limiting individual personal contributions to candidates to $5,000. Nevertheless, he continued to raise substantial funds, ultimately having procured a total $15 million over the course of his campaign (including those funds transferred from his congressional campaign committee). Emanuel was able to raise so much because he had experience fundraising, had built a Washington connections and a national profile, and his brother Ari had Hollywood connections. He had 75 contributors give more than $50,000, twenty-five of which were from out of state. Among these high-dollar contributors were Steven Spielberg, Donald Trump, and Steve Jobs. Despite having a national fundraising operation, three-quarters of his donations came locally. More than $800,000 of his contributions were from financial exchange and trading executives, with his largest single donation being a $200,000 donation from executives of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Emanuel proposed lowering the city's sales tax and raising the service tax. Emanuel supported negotiating with the Chicago Teachers Union for longer school days and school years. Emanuel opposed instituting an elected school board. This received criticism from other candidates. Other candidates assailed his tenure at Freddie Mac. As the frontrunner, Emanuel had gotten more press coverage than other mayoral candidates. This was furthered by the fact that the challenge to his residency became a dominant headline. Emanuel entered the race with solid backing from North and Northwest Side Democratic Ward Committeemen.

Tenure

Emanuel assembled a transition team from varied backgrounds. On November 16, the city council voted unanimously to adopt the mayor's first budget, which decreased the budget by $34 million and increased spending by $46.2 million, supported by increasing fees and fines. Despite most Aldermen opposing cuts to library workers and the closure of mental health clinics, they ultimately supported it, calling it "honest". At a news conference in November 2012, Emanuel listed his top three priorities for the state legislature as security and pension reform, adding a casino to Chicago, and equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. At a press conference with then Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, who previously vetoed legislation to put a casino in Chicago, the two were "very close" to reaching a deal. In April 2018, Emanuel received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from NUI Galway, a university in Chicago's sister city of Galway, Ireland, with the conferrers citing achievements in education reform while Mayor.

As mayor, Emanuel appointed several individuals to fill vacancies on the Chicago City Council. This included appointing Natashia Holmes as 7th Ward alderman in 2013, Deb Mell as 33rd Ward alderman in 2013, Sophia King as 4th ward alderman in 2016, and Silvana Tabares as 23rd Ward alderman in 2018. Following the resignation of Willie Cochran in March 2019, Emanuel had the opportunity to make a final aldermanic appointment, appointing an interim alderman to hold the seat until his successor (to be elected in an April 2 runoff) would assume office on May 20. However, Emanuel did not make such an appointment, leaving the seat vacant until March 20.

In August 2012, a federal lawsuit was filed by eleven Chicago police officers alleging they were removed from the mayoral security detail and replaced with officers who worked on Emanuel's mayoral campaign, in violation of the 1983 Shakman Decree, which bars city officials from making political considerations in the hiring process.

Emanuel faced a great deal of criticism for his handling of the October 20, 2014 police murder of Laquan McDonald. The dash-cam video of the shooting was initially withheld, and only was released after a judge ordered it on November 24, 2015. After the video release, Emanuel was condemned for covering up the incident and allowing Chicago police to use excessive force against minorities. Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass wrote that the Emanuel administration withheld from the public the police dashboard camera video of the shooting in order to secure the reelection. Emanuel responded to criticism of the shooting and how it was handled by firing police Superintendent Garry McCarthy. In early December, the federal Justice Department announced an investigation into the Chicago Police Department, a move which Emanuel initially called "misguided". Illinois state legislator La Shawn Ford also introduced a bill to recall the mayor (an effort most pundits claim was more symbolic than practical).

Approval ratings

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End of tenure

Emanuel planned to arrange for a smooth transition between his mayoral administration and that of his elected successor Lori Lightfoot. Reports were that he intended to model the transition between their administrations upon the U.S. presidential transition between the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. Emanuel had been part of that transition as Obama's Chief of Staff designate.

Post-mayoral career

Hours after Emanuel left office, the magazine The Atlantic, where he had written a dozen essays in prior months, made him a contributing editor; however, this honorary title was withdrawn after black staff members objected. In May 2019, he was named founding executive chair of the National BAM Advisory Council of the Becoming A Man youth program. In June 2019, Emanuel joined Centerview Partners as a senior counselor. Since July 2019, Emanuel has also served as a political analyst for ABC News.

Potential cabinet position in Biden administration

Progressive politicians nationally, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Matt Martin, opposed his potential inclusion in Joe Biden's Cabinet, citing his handling of the murder of Laquan McDonald. Initially, Emanuel was considered for transportation secretary in the Biden administration.

United States ambassador to Japan

It was reported in February 2021 that Emanuel was being considered by the Biden administration as an ambassador to either China or Japan. In April 2021 it was reported that Biden had chosen him as ambassador to Japan; Emanuel was formally nominated to serve as ambassador in August 2021. Hearings were held on Emanuel's nomination in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on October 20, 2021. The committee favorably reported Emanuel's nomination to the Senate floor on November 3, 2021. On December 18, 2021, the United States Senate confirmed Emanuel's nomination in a 48–21 vote; senators Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley and Elizabeth Warren were the only Democrats to vote against his confirmation. He presented his credentials to Japanese Emperor Naruhito on March 25, 2022.

Emanuel gained popularity with the Japanese public, in part by using the local rail transport system to get around Tokyo and across the country, frequently posting photographs of himself using the rail systems on Twitter. However, he drew criticism from some Japanese politicians with his public statements on gay and transgender rights, released while Japanese lawmakers debated an anti-discrimination bill. Masamune Wada, a Liberal Democratic member of the House of Councillors responded, saying Emanuel should keep out of domestic politics or risk expulsion.

In 2024, he became the first U.S. ambassador to visit Yonaguni. On August 7, 2024, it was announced that he would skip attending a memorial ceremony to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki because Israel was not invited to the ceremony.

Post-ambassadorship

Following his resignation as ambassador, Emanuel joined the New York-based investment banking firm Centerview Partners.

He also joined CNN as a commentator and began writing a column for The Washington Post, as well as appearing on many political podcasts and the lecture circuit, leading many observers to believe that he is planning to run for president in 2028.

Political positions

Social issues

Emanuel was described as generally liberal on social issues in 2008. He has maintained a 100-percent pro-choice voting record and is a strong supporter of gun control, rated "F" by the NRA in December 2003. He strongly supported the banning of numerous rifles based upon "sporting purposes" criteria in 1998.

During Emanuel's mayoral tenure and congressional term, he was supportive of LGBTQ rights. As mayor, he introduced an ordinance that prohibited public places from denying restroom access based on a person's gender identity, which was passed by the city council, as well as taking steps to remove the exclusion of gender reassignment services from city health care benefits, saying, "With this change, Chicago will ensure that transgender city employees are able to receive the medical care that they need." While serving in Congress, he was supportive of gay marriage, and he received an endorsement from the Human Rights Campaign, which gave him a score of 100 percent on issues of LGBTQ equality. Since the 2024 presidential election, Emanuel has expressed opposition to transgender rights, stating in a 2025 interview that he supports the incarceration of transgender women in men's prisons and that he does not believe a man could become a woman. He further argued in another interview that Democrats lost the election because they became distracted by defunding the police, climate change and "transgenderism".

Healthcare

During his original 2002 campaign, Emanuel spoke in support of the goal of "to help make health care affordable and available for all Americans". Emanuel promoted the Obama administration's push for health care reform in 2010 publicly but he privately urged President Obama to narrow his goals. Concerned by Bill Clinton's failed attempt at health care reform, he advised Obama early on to pursue a smaller, incremental approach. He pushed for what he believed could be achieved in the short term and making gradual progress instead of aiming for a comprehensive plan. Obama rejected this approach and moved forward with the Affordable Care Act. When the legislative process stalled in the summer, Emanuel returned to his original position of "playing it safe," repeatedly raising it with the president during the first week of August, advocating for a scaled-down plan focused on expanding coverage for lower-income families and children, and targeting a few specific insurance industry practices. Emanuel argued that the history of health care reform was proof that only incremental progress had succeeded in the past. Obama again declined, telling advisers he was not ready to give up on the comprehensive plan. According to reports, Emanuel aggressively pushed and himself admitted that he "begged" Obama for an entire week in the summer of 2009 to not pursue the ACA.

In his 2006 book, co-authored with Bruce Reed, The Plan: Big Ideas for America, Emanuel advocated a three-month compulsory universal service program for Americans between the ages of 18 and 25.

Economic policy

Emanuel is a strong proponent of free trade.

Foreign policy

During his original 2002 campaign, Emanuel supported "President Bush's position on Iraq.". In the 2006 congressional primaries, Emanuel, then head of the Democratic congressional campaign committee, helped organize a run by Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran with no political experience, against grassroots candidate Christine Cegelis in Illinois' 6th district. Expedited withdrawal from Iraq was a central point of Cegelis' campaign and Duckworth opposed a withdrawal timetable. In 2005, Emanuel said that he would have voted for and supported the Iraq war even if he knew that Bush lied about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction since he believed removing Saddam Hussein was "the right thing to do".

Emanuel has been described as a "vocal Zionist". In June 2007, Emanuel condemned an outbreak of Palestinian violence in the Gaza Strip and criticized Arab countries for not applying the same kind of pressure on the Palestinians as they have on Israel. At a 2003 pro-Israel rally in Chicago, Emanuel told the marchers that Israel was "ready for peace" but would not get there until Palestinians "turn away from the path of terror". In 2025, Emanuel said he "support[s] the state of Israel", but that if he were elected president he would be willing to publicly disagree with Israeli policies. In November 2025, Emanuel urged "a long-term rebuilding of the narrative around Israel's needs" and added "If we do not grasp the depth of the situation, we will never fix it" at the annual General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA).

In a July 2026 speech at Tel Aviv University, Emanuel criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for an end to United States military aid to Israel and sanctions to fight violence against Palestinians in the West Bank as well as illegal construction of settlements there. He proposed a peace process that would have 22 Arab states have diplomatic relations with Israel and the Arab League to support the creation of a Palestinian entity.

Electoral history

Mayor of Chicago

US House of Representatives

Personal life

Emanuel and his wife, Amy Merritt Rule, have a son and two daughters. As of 2011, their family lived in the Ravenswood neighborhood on Chicago's North Side. Rule converted to Judaism shortly before their wedding. Emanuel is a close friend of fellow Chicagoan David Axelrod, chief strategist for Obama's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, and Axelrod signed the ketuba, the Jewish marriage contract, at Emanuel's wedding. The Emanuels are members of the Chicago synagogue Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel. Rabbi Asher Lopatin of the congregation described Emanuel's family as "a very involved Jewish family", adding that "Amy was one of the teachers for a class for children during the High Holidays two years ago". Emanuel has said of his Judaism: "I am proud of my heritage and treasure the values it has taught me." Emanuel's children attended the private University of Chicago Laboratory Schools in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.

Each year during the winter holidays, Emanuel takes a family trip on which his children can be exposed to other cultures and parts of the world. Prior family trips have been to Vietnam, India, Kenya, Zambia, and South America. His 2015 holiday trip was scheduled for the island of Cuba. Emanuel is a longtime JoJo fan and attended her concert in Chicago in November 2016. He trains for and participates in triathlons. In 2011, he scored 9th out of 80 competitors in his age group. A passionate cyclist, he rides a custom-built, state-of-the-art Parlee road bike.

Publications

Books

The Plan: Big Ideas for America, PublicAffairs, August 2006 (co-authored with Bruce Reed)

Articles

"Why Chicago Leads on Police Reform", The New York Times, May 8, 2019

"How Not to Lose to Donald Trump", The Atlantic, March 10, 2019