Sherut Leumi (Hebrew: שירות לאומי‎, lit. National Service) is an alternative voluntary national service in Israel for those that cannot or do not wish to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. The majority who receive an exemption from the obligatory army service are Jewish women from the Religious Zionist sector, and they receive it by declaring religious observance, as they maintain that men are to perform that duty, and women are responsible for the family. However, there are also a small number of men who serve in Sherut Leumi. Volunteers are between the ages of 18 and 21. Sherut Leumi gives young women (and occasionally young men) exposure to a number of environments in Israeli society. Service typically requires working 30–40 hours/week over 12 to 24 months. Volunteers have the option of doing either one or two years of the National Service. Not all volunteers are Israeli citizens. It can be done on a tourist visa, and the volunteer will later receive a special volunteer visa that lasts as long as the person will be doing their service.

Nir Barkat (Hebrew: ניר ברקת‎; born 19 October 1959) is an Israeli businessman, politician and mayor of Jerusalem.

Nir Barkat was born in 1959 and raised in Jerusalem. His father, Zalman, was a professor of physics at the Hebrew University. He served in the Paratroopers Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces for six years (1977–83), as well as reserve duty, and reached the rank of Major.

Barkat received his bachelor degree in computer science at Jerusalem's Hebrew University.

Barkat is married to his wife Beverly and is the father of three daughters.

Barkat started his career in the hi-tech industry by founding a software company called BRM in 1988, which specialized in antivirus software. Later the company became an incubator venture firm that invested in several companies such as Check Point and Backweb. He later helped found the social investment company IVN.

Barkat entered politics in January 2003 when he founded the party Yerushalayim Tatzli'ah ("Jerusalem Will Succeed") and ran in the Jerusalem mayoral race, gaining 43% of the vote and narrowly losing to Uri Lupoliansky. He became head of the opposition on the city council, until the 2008 election.