About Joel B. Pollak
Joel B. Pollak was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and
grew up in Skokie, Illinois. He graduated with honors from
Harvard College in 1999 and returned to South Africa as a
Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar in 2000. He
worked as a freelance journalist in Cape Town before serving
as a speechwriter for Tony Leon, then-leader of the South
African opposition, from 2002 to 2006. After earning a Master
of Arts in Jewish Studies from the University of Cape Town in 2006, he returned to the
United States and graduated from Harvard Law School in 2009. His first book,
The Kasrils Affair: Jews and Minority Politics in South Africa (University of Cape Town
Press, 2008) was a critical and commercial success. He served as a volunteer writer for
the McCain campaign, and has also worked as a research assistant for Alan Dershowitz.
To purchase the Kasrils Affair: Jews and Minority Politics in South Africa click Here.