Haim Jelin

Haim Jelin was born in 1958 in Buenos Aires

Jelin was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to a Zionist family. He lived in Israel for a few years as a child. At 18 he immigrated to Israel with a group called Etgar.

He served in the IDF as a lone soldier and instructed in a tank commanders course. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics and management from Sapir Academic College and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. After his service he became a member of kibbutz Be'eri.

He later moved to kibbutz Nahal Oz to help it recover from a financial crisis and chaired it. He also chaired kibbutzim Lahav and Mash'abei Sade. In 2007 he was elected head of the Eshkol Regional Council, which borders the Gaza Strip, and was reelected in 2012.

He entered the Knesset with Yesh Atid in 2015 and chaired lobbies for local government, the Gaza border area and agriculture. In 2019 he left Yesh Atid and ran tenth on the Labor list, but was not elected. He later announced he was leaving politics.

In November 2024 he cofounded the October Council, a group of bereaved families, hostage families and survivors of the October 7 massacre. He lives in Be'eri, is married to the artist Ziva Jelin, and has 4 children.